Ecc Parkway Joint Venture v. Peter W. Baldwin

ECC Parkway Joint Venture complains that it was sold a tract of raw land without being told that the property was subject to a prior deed restriction limiting to thirty feet the height of any building constructed on the property. From this simple seed has sprung a veritable wilderness of litigation. ECC first sued its title insurer, Title Insurance Company of Minnesota, to recover under its title policy, and was paid a sum of money in settlement of that action. Now in this action ECC has sued the seller, Peter W. Baldwin, d/b/a The Baldwin Company, and a broker, Duvall-Giles Company, Inc., for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging that Baldwin and Duvall-Giles failed to disclose the existence of the height restriction and represented that the restriction did not exist when they knew it did. ECC has also sued Duvall-Giles for breach of fiduciary duty. Baldwin, in turn, has sued Duvall-Giles and its agent, Frank W. Harrison III, for contribution and indemnity. Both Baldwin and Duvall-Giles have also sued Minnesota Title, its agent, American Title Company of Dallas, and American Titles employee, William R. Fox, for contribution and indemnity. The trial court granted motions for summary judgment dismissing all these claims, and severed them from the claims remaining in the case, mostly for attorneys fees. ECC, Baldwin and Duvall-Giles appeal.