Federer v. Zurich American Insurance Co.

Christina Audrey Federer (“Federer”) filed suit in Georgia state court against American Mortgage Express Corp. (“AMEC”) for violations of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act (“GRMA”). When AMEC — which had been out of business for several years — failed to respond, the Georgia court entered a default judgment and awarded substantial damages. Shortly thereafter Federer passed away and plaintiff-appellant David Lawrence Federer, as executor of her estate (the “Estate”), brought suit to recover the default judgment award from AMEC’s surety, defendant-appellee Fidelity and Deposit Co. of…