Bowers v. Transamerica Title Insurance Co.
Supreme Court of Washington
675 P.2d 193 (1983)
- Written by Rocco Sainato, JD
Facts
In 1978, Mr. and Mrs. Bowers, as well as Mrs. Bowers’ brother (the Bowers) (plaintiffs), placed a piece of their jointly owned property up for sale. Quantum Construction, Inc. (Quantum) came forward, and offered to pay the Bowers a $10,000 down payment, with the remaining proceeds to be paid by a note. The parties agreed that Transamerica Title Insurance Co. (Transamerica) (defendant) would perform the closing. Transamerica’s escrow closer, Bonniejean Evans, prepared all of the documents necessary for closing. During these proceedings, Transamerica approached Quantum and asked if the note in question was to be unsecured. Quantum responded affirmatively. After the closing, Quantum defaulted on the note, with its shareholders fleeing the country. The Bowers brought suit against Transamerica, alleging that Transamerica engaged in the unauthorized practice of law and as such, was liable to plaintiffs for the amount owed by Quantum. The superior court ruled in favor of the Bowers, determining that Transamerica engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. Transamerica petitioned for certiorari to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pearson, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
