Booker T. Washington Construction & Design Company v. Huntington Urban Renewal Authority

A landowner's life-tenant heirs, but not the remaindermen who would inherit after their deaths, sold their interests to the City of Huntington, which then conveyed the land by general warranty deed — purporting to give fee simple ownership — to the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority (defendant). The Authority contracted to sell its interest to Booker T. Washington Construction & Design Co. (plaintiff), which improved the property for a buyer who had agreed to take ownership. That buyer backed out once a title search revealed the Authority couldn't convey clear title, because it only actually held a life estate, not fee simple. The company sued the Authority for lost profits, and the Authority impleaded the City for indemnification; the trial court granted the City summary judgment and dismissed it, and the Authority appealed.