Bridges v. Heimburger
Court of Appeals of North Carolina
260 S.E.2d 675 (N.C. Ct. App. 1979)
Bridges and Deweese (defendants) sold a lot to Hugh Moore in 1967, but due to a clerical error, legal title remained with Moore Homes, Inc. even after Bridges and Deweese foreclosed and repurchased the lot; they later conveyed the lot by warranty deed to Doyle Homes, which built a house and sold it by warranty deed to the Heimburgers (plaintiffs) in 1970. In 1974, when the Heimburgers tried to sell the home, the title defect surfaced just before closing, and they sued Doyle Homes, Bridges, and Deweese for damages; before trial, Moore Homes cured the defect with a quitclaim deed, and the Heimburgers made no further attempts to sell but eventually lost the property to a 1975 foreclosure for unrelated reasons. The trial court awarded the Heimburgers the amount they would have netted from the failed 1974 sale, and Bridges and Deweese appealed.
Whether a remote grantor of a warranty deed can be held liable for breach of the covenants of quiet enjoyment and warranty of title when the current owner was never actually or constructively evicted.