Mary Abbott v. Chris Okoye

MEMORANDUM

Mary Abbott appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Chris Ok-oye on her claims of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. We affirm the district court.

In 2005, Chris Okoye sued Mary Abbott’s now deceased husband George Abbott, the Abbott Family Trust, and Mary Abbott, in her capacity as trustee, in Nevada state court. The Nevada court granted the Abbott defendants summary judgment on all but one of Okoye’s claims. The parties then settled the remaining claim, and, pursuant to the settlement agreement, the case was dismissed with prejudice. Okoye then filed a subsequent suit in California state court, raising claims similar to those raised in the Nevada state court action. Abbott contends that in filing this subsequent California state suit, Okoye breached the settlement agreement and its implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

On appeal, Abbott argues that the district court erred in applying Nevada, and not California, contract law in this diversity case. This argument was not presented in her initial brief to this court, and she therefore waived the choice-of-law argument. Brookfield…