Rideau

BACKGROUND

In the prior appeal, we were required to interpret section IV of the Instructions and

found that the Rideaus' claim Stewart Title had breached its contractual obligations was

2 valid. Section IV of the Instructions, "Release of Funds," first provided Stewart Title

would release funds as instructed by BGJB, without further authorization, and Stewart

Title would then disburse the funds to the fund control company. The Instructions

represented that BGJB and the fund control company had a pre-approved voucher control

system agreement in place. However, Stewart Title released the Rideaus' deposit to other

entities. BGJB failed to construct the condominium building, and neither Stewart Title

nor BGJB returned the Rideaus' deposit.

In their lawsuit, the Rideaus alleged Stewart Title breached the contract,

committed negligence, and violated other duties. After the trial court ruled for Stewart

Title, our prior opinion reversed the judgment with directions. We concluded that the

most reasonable interpretation of the Instructions was "that they implicitly required

Stewart Title to release the Rideaus' funds only to [the fund control company]. In…