Tribeca Homes, LLC v. Marathon Investment Corp.
322 Ga. App. 596
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2013Background
- Tribeca Homes applied in 2006 to acquire 9 Branham Street from the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank to build housing; the Land Bank had discretion to dispose of parcels.
- Marathon (owned by Dan West) received a quitclaim from Mamie Bentley (heir) and tendered payment to the Land Bank; the Land Bank deeded 9 Branham to Marathon in August 2007.
- Tribeca sued Marathon, West, Audrey Akpan (Land Bank executive director), and others alleging bribery, fraud, RICO violations, and tortious interference, asserting Marathon illegally redeemed the parcel.
- Evidence for Tribeca included depositions of former associates and two e-mails referencing “assistance payments”; defendants contested authenticity.
- The trial court granted summary judgment for defendants; Tribeca appealed as to RICO and tortious-interference claims (it did not appeal summary judgment for the Land Bank).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Tribeca stated a private RICO claim based on alleged bribery/fraud tied to the Land Bank transfer | Tribeca argued defendants’ predicate acts (bribery/fraud) caused its injury by depriving it of the property | Defendants argued Tribeca was only an applicant with no guaranteed entitlement, so no direct nexus between predicate acts and Tribeca’s injury | Court held no RICO claim: plaintiff failed to show the required direct causal nexus between a predicate offense and its injury |
| Whether Tribeca stated a tortious interference claim with business/contractual relations | Tribeca argued defendants’ wrongful conduct caused third parties/authority not to grant it the property, causing damage | Defendants argued Land Bank had sole discretionary authority to dispose of property and Tribeca cannot show proximate cause or that it would have received the parcel absent defendants’ conduct | Court held tortious-interference claim fails: no proximate causation because Tribeca had no entitlement and the Land Bank’s discretion made any alleged damage speculative |
Key Cases Cited
- Schoenbaum Limited Co. v. Lenox Pines, 262 Ga. App. 457 (Ga. Ct. App. 2000) (distinguishes cases where plaintiff had an existing contract showing direct injury from defendants’ predicate acts)
- Duke Galish, LLC v. Manton, 291 Ga. App. 827 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008) (proximate-cause failure where plaintiff’s contractual contingencies made injury speculative)
- BX Corp. v. Hickory Hill 1185, 285 Ga. 5 (Ga. 2009) (discusses redemption/right-to-redeem issues relevant to property-transfer timing)