Presidential Financial Corp. v. Tele-Wire Supply Corp.
Presidential Financial Corp. v. Tele-Wire Supply Corp.
Opinion of the Court
Tele-Wire Supply Corporation brought suit against Presidential Financial Corporation alleging, in Count V, that Presidential acted with wanton negligence in failing to turn over funds due Tele-Wire under an agreement between the parties and converting those funds to Presidential’s own use. Tele-Wire moved for partial summary judgment on Count V and on Presidential’s counterclaim. The trial court sustained Tele-Wire’s motion and Presidential appeals.
Appellee sold cable equipment to ITD (Industrial Tool Distributors, Inc.) which in turn sold the equipment to Cox (Cox Cable Communications, Inc.). Cox forwarded all payments for the equipment it purchased from ITD to appellant, sending a check or other remittance plus a voucher which contained the invoice number of the equipment for which the check was payment. Appellee and appellant entered into an agreement whereby appellant agreed to deposit all checks it received from Cox in payment of appellee’s equipment in a special account (“collateral account”) set up for that purpose. The agreement stated that appellant “understand^] that all invoices bearing a number including the prefix ‘TW’ (‘TW Invoices’) represent receivables arising from sales by ITD to Cox of goods purchased from [appellee] and that all TW Invoices direct Cox to send all payments with respect thereto to a mailing address of [appellant’s]. ... In the event th¿t any check or remittance is received in payment of an unspecified invoice, you and we agree to cooperate in determing [sic] to which receivable such payment relates.” Appellant relied on the Cox voucher documentation rather than the invoices in determining the presence of TW prefix invoices and, seeing thereon no reference to invoices so designated, appellant directed all payments to ITD (save for certain invoices designated in payment to appellant under a separate agreement between ITD and appellant). Appellee brought suit against appellant claiming appellant had failed to properly deposit payments made by Cox on TW prefix invoices.
1. Appellant contends the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment to appellee on Count V. The trial court held that
Therefore, because a question of fact exists whether the action taken by appellant pursuant to the agreement proximately caused appellee’s loss, the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment to appellee on Count V. OCGA § 9-11-56; see Superior Rigging &c. Co. v. Ralston Purina Co., 172 Ga. App. 79, 81 (322 SE2d 95) (1984).
2. Appellant’s other enumerations of error as to the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment to appellee on Count V need not be reviewed in light of our holding in Division 1.
3. Appellant’s counterclaim had been voluntarily dismissed prior to the hearing pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-41 (a) and (c), therefore,
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.