Eleanor Proctor, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Transamerica Title Insurance, Defendant-appellant, 951 F.2d 361 (9th Cir. 1991)

Annotate this Case
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 951 F.2d 361 (9th Cir. 1991) Argued and Submitted Nov. 7, 1991. Decided Dec. 20, 1991

Before TANG, O'SCANNLAIN and RYMER, Circuit Judges.


ORDER* 

Having heard oral argument of counsel, and having considered the briefs submitted by the parties, we conclude that the district court did not err in ordering judgment for appellee Eleanor Proctor.

"An escrow holder must comply strictly with the instructions of the parties." Claussen v. First American Title Guar. Co., 230 Cal. Rptr. 749, 752 (Cal.Ct.App.1986). Appellant Transamerica Title Insurance Company breached such duty when it closed escrow file 123233-J on October 7, 1982, and gave a first trust deed to Lancaster Savings, rather than to Proctor.

The district court properly determined that recording the deed before deposit into the escrow file was immaterial to Transamerica's duty to follow the escrow instructions. The district court was also correct in finding that Proctor lacked the intent to convey the deed when she handed it to her friend Jeri Gudgel. Hence, we cannot accept Transamerica's waiver and estoppel arguments.

We reject Transamerica's other contentions as well. Accordingly, the judgment below is

AFFIRMED.

 *

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit R. 36-3

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.