Globe Motor Company v. Ilya Igdalev(074996), 139 A.3d 57

Background

Globe (with Margolis Law Firm) settled prior litigation with Ilya and Julia Igdalev for $75,000 by a Settlement Agreement requiring payment by certified or attorney-trust check payable to plaintiffs’ counsel.
Plaintiffs received two certified checks totaling $75,000: $63,000 remitted by Mike Povolotsky (affiliated with Auto Point, a Minnesota entity) and a $12,000 Wells Fargo cashier’s check referencing a Minnesota branch.
Auto Point later filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy; its Trustee sued Globe and Margolis in an adversary proceeding alleging the settlement funds were Auto Point’s assets and recoverable under bankruptcy law; plaintiffs settled that adversary for $22,500.
Globe/Margolis then sued the Igdalevs for breach of the Settlement Agreement (and related claims), seeking indemnification for the $22,500 paid plus fees; the motion court granted plaintiffs summary judgment on breach of contract and awarded damages and fees.
The Appellate Division affirmed (one judge dissenting). The New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed whether the summary-judgment record established plaintiffs’ right to judgment as a matter of law.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether defendants breached the Settlement Agreement by failing to pay settlement funds that were "free" of third-party claims	Globe: Agreement required defendants to pay $75,000 in funds owned by them and not subject to future claims; Trustee’s adversary and plaintiffs’ $22,500 settlement show breach	Igdalevs: Agreement required only delivery of certified/attorney-trust checks payable to counsel; defendants delivered such checks and plaintiffs accepted them; the funds may have been Povolotsky’s/defendant’s money	Reversed summary judgment. Genuine issue of material fact exists whether funds were Auto Point’s or belonged to Povolotsky/defendants; remanded for further fact-finding
Proper interpretation of the Settlement Agreement’s payment term	Globe: Payment term should be read to require "good funds" not subject to future claims	Igdalevs: Payment term is satisfied by certified checks payable to counsel; origin of funds not specified	Court: Motion court failed to construe the critical term; interpretation is necessary and unresolved, so summary judgment was improper
Whether plaintiffs proved breach by a preponderance at summary judgment	Globe: Trustee’s adversary + settlement payment sufficed to show funds were wrongfully transferred and defendants breached	Igdalevs: Plaintiffs offered no competent proof that funds belonged to Auto Point; defendants’ certification raised an inference funds were owed to Ilya and held by Povolotsky	Court: Plaintiffs presented only the Trustee’s allegation and settlement; record lacks competent evidence resolving ownership—reasonable factfinder could rule for defendants
Whether summary judgment standard was correctly applied	Globe: motion court and App. Div. correctly concluded no genuine issue of material fact	Igdalevs: Courts failed to view all legitimate inferences in defendants’ favor and relied on unadjudicated bankruptcy allegations	Court: Summary-judgment standard requires drawing inferences for non-movant; trial record left material factual dispute, so grant of summary judgment was error

Key Cases Cited

Bhagat v. Bhagat, 217 N.J. 22 (review standard for summary judgment and app. of substantive burdens)
Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520 (summary judgment principles and requirement that nonmoving party produce competent evidential material)
Perez v. Professionally Green, LLC, 215 N.J. 388 (summary judgment test whether rational factfinder could resolve disputed issue for non-moving party)
Kieffer v. Best Buy, 205 N.J. 213 (court may not rewrite contract; interpret contract from parties’ intent)
Brundage v. Estate of Carambio, 195 N.J. 575 (settlement agreements governed by general contract principles)
Robbins v. Jersey City, 23 N.J. 229 (opposing party must demonstrate genuine issue of fact with competent material)