Opinion ID: 1408147
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Zorich matter

Text: In 1981 Zorich and his wife discovered that real estate they owned in Glenallen had been conveyed by Joseph Gural [1] and Bernard Miller to Bobby Hartman, and that Hartman and his wife had cleared trees from the lot and were living in a trailer on the lot. Zorich retained Triem to quiet title to this property and to recover damages. After a number of postponements, trial on this matter was held in Glenallen on October 3, 1988. Before trial, Hartman agreed to confess judgment for $2,000 in damages and to execute a quitclaim deed to the Zorichs. At trial the Zorichs prevailed, as assignees of the Hartmans, against Miller and Gural. When the trial ended, the court directed Triem to submit within twenty days findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a proposed judgment. The court informed Triem that upon receipt of these documents it would enter final judgment. Triem contends that after the trial, in a meeting between Triem, Zorich, and Hartman on October 15 or 16, Zorich agreed to change the legal strategy for quieting title from pursuing a final judgment to the reconveyance of deeds. Triem began a plan to reconvey deeds, obtaining a quitclaim deed from Bobby Hartman and having it forwarded to Hartman's ex-wife in Texas. Triem did not follow up on this plan. Until Zorich made an independent inquiry after terminating Triem's services in the spring of 1990, Triem was unaware that the quitclaim deed had been signed, returned by Mrs. Hartman and filed. On October 18 and December 3, 1988, Triem had requested a reconveyance from the Fairbanks Title Company, the trustee for the property. Fairbanks Title recorded the reconveyance on February 6, 1989. However, because Fairbanks Title mistakenly sent the conformed copy to the Hartmans, Triem was unaware of the reconveyance. Triem took no further steps to contact Fairbanks Title until December. [2] Triem took this action after Zorich, who had been unable to contact Triem by phone to get a status report, sent Triem a certified letter on October 7, 1989. Zorich wrote to Triem regarding the status of his case three times in early February 1990. Zorich also contacted the court and learned that Triem had not filed the findings, conclusions, and judgment the court had requested when the trial ended. Zorich and Triem met several times in March 1990 and Triem explained to Zorich that he had not filed the court papers because he felt that a judgment was unnecessary or not in Zorich's best interests. Zorich dismissed Triem and retained attorney Clifford Smith. Smith filed the necessary documents and in May 1990 the court entered judgment for Zorich for $13,500, plus $12,000 in interest, and awarded Zorich unspecified attorney's fees.