31800 Wick Road Holdings, LLC v. Future Lodging-Airport, Inc.

848 F. Supp. 2d 757, 2012 WL 262550, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10711
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 30, 2012
DocketCase No. 10-13692
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 848 F. Supp. 2d 757 (31800 Wick Road Holdings, LLC v. Future Lodging-Airport, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
31800 Wick Road Holdings, LLC v. Future Lodging-Airport, Inc., 848 F. Supp. 2d 757, 2012 WL 262550, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10711 (E.D. Mich. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF/CO UNTER-DEFEN-DANTS’ MOTIONS FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT (# 35 and #40)

GEORGE CARAM STEEH, District Judge.

On September 16, 2010, 31800 Wick Road Holdings, LLC (“Wick Road”) filed a complaint in this court seeking to recover money allegedly owed by defendant Future Lodging-Airport, Inc. (“Borrower”) under the terms of a promissory note in [760]*760the principal amount of $2,650,000, to foreclose its mortgage lien on the real and personal property that constitute a 123-room hotel located in Romulus, Michigan, and to recover amounts allegedly owed to it by defendant Kays Zair under the terms of a Guaranty of Payment and a Guaranty of Recourse Obligations of Borrower. On April 29, 2011, Wick Road moved for summary judgment on its mortgage foreclosure claim against Borrower and its guaranty of payment claim against Zair. On June 27, 2011, Wick Road and the third-party defendants moved for summary judgment on the counterclaim/third-party complaint. These motions have been fully briefed by the parties. On September 1, 2011, the court held oral argument on the motions. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants in part and denies in part Wick Road’s motions for partial summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

On August 21, 2006, Borrower obtained a $2,650,000 commercial mortgage loan from Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB. The loan is evidenced by a promissory note and is secured in part by a mortgage on the real and personal property that constitutes a 123-room hotel located at 31800 Wick Road in the city of Romulus, Michigan. The description of the mortgaged property is set forth more specifically in the mortgage.

The mortgage requires Borrower to make payments on “the Debt at the time and in the manner provided in the Note.” (Mortgage, § 3.1.) The debt is defined as:

the aggregate of the indebtedness evidenced by the Note in lawful money of the United States of America, interest, default interest, late charges, prepayment premiums and other sums, as provided in the Note, this Security Instrument or the other Loan Documents ..., all other moneys agreed or provided to be paid by Borrower in the Note, this Security Instrument or the other Loan Documents and all sums advanced pursuant to this Security Instrument to protect and preserve the Property and the lien and the security interest created hereby.

(Mortgage, § 2.1.) The note requires Borrower to make payments on the amounts due on the 11th day of each month. The mortgage includes, as an event of default, “if any portion of the Debt is not paid on the date the same is due or if the entire Debt is not paid on or before the Maturity Date ...” (Mortgage, § 9.1.) Upon default, Wick Road may take certain actions, “which may be pursued concurrently or otherwise”, including:

(a) declare the entire unpaid Debt to be immediately due and payable; (b) with or without entry, institute proceedings, judicial or otherwise, for the complete or partial foreclosure of this Security Instrument under any applicable provision of law in which case the Property or any interest therein may be sold for cash or upon credit in one or more parcels or in several interests or portions and in any order or manner ...

(Mortgage, § 10.1.)

The mortgage provides for the application of proceeds as follows:

The purchase money, proceeds and avails of any disposition of the Property, or any part thereof, or any other sums collected by Lender pursuant to the Note, this Security Instrument or the other Loan Documents, may be applied by Lender to the payment of the Debt in such priority and proportions as Lender in its discretion shall deem proper.

(Mortgage, § 10.2.) The loan and loan documents were eventually assigned to Wick Road.

In connection with the loan, Zair executed a guaranty of payment and a guaranty of recourse obligations of Borrower. Un[761]*761der the guaranty of payment, Zair “absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably” guaranteed payment of the debt. The guaranty also entitles Wick Road to proceed “directly and at once, without notice” against Zair to collect and recover the full amount of his liability “without proceeding against Borrower ... or foreclosing upon, selling, or otherwise disposing of’ the mortgaged property. (Guaranty, § 9.) The guaranty also contains the following provision:

Notwithstanding anything [to] the contrary contained herein, Guarantor’s maximum liability under this Guaranty shall be limited to the sum which is (i) twenty five percent (25%) of the unpaid principal balance of the Loan (the “Guaranteed Principal Amount”), (ii) interest on the Guaranteed Principal Amount at the Default Rate prevailing from time to time under the Note and (iii) amounts payable by Guarantor under Section 4 hereof.

(Guaranty, § 18.) Section 4 requires Zair to reimburse Wick Road “for all expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements) incurred by Lender in connection with the collection of the Guaranteed Obligations or any portion thereof or with the enforcement of this Guaranty.” (Guaranty, § 4.) The guaranty also provides “[a]ll moneys available to Lender for application in payment or reduction of the Debt may be applied by Lender in such manner and in such amounts and at such time or times and in such order and priority as Lender may elect in its sole discretion.” (Guaranty, § 5.)

The mortgage contains provisions related to a “Replacement Reserve and Leasing Reserve” whereby Borrower was required to make deposits to be placed into a replacement reserve escrow account and Wick Road was required to make disbursements from the account to reimburse Borrower for certain costs incurred. The agreement provides:

Each request for disbursement from the Reserve shall be in a form specified or approved by Lender, and shall be accompanied by evidence of the full performance of the obligations of the leasing agent or satisfactory completion of the Work or payment for FFE Replacements, as the case may be, and such bills, invoices and other evidence of the incurrence of the related costs and expenses as Lender may reasonably request.

(Exhibit B to Mortgage, § 3(d).)

Zair attests that from 2006 to the end of 2009, the lender routinely allowed Borrower to assign disbursements from the reserve escrow account to the lender in lieu of making a monthly payment on the loan. From the payment history sheet for January 1, 2009 through May 13, 2010, it appears installment payments were made from the reserve account for the April 11, 2009 and August 11, 2009 payments.

At the beginning of December 2009, Borrower submitted a reserve escrow disbursement request in the amount of $39,670.56 and requested the lender utilize the funds to satisfy Borrower’s monthly payment obligation. The lender requested Borrower make the payment directly. Zair represents the following month he submitted another request and again requested that the lender use the funds to satisfy Borrower’s monthly payment obligation. The lender again requested Borrower make the payment directly. Borrower and Zair assert Wick Road has refused to honor the disbursement requests or to release funds held in escrow. Wick Road claims the December 2009 and January 2010 requests were not properly supported with proof that the purported purchases actually occurred.

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Bluebook (online)
848 F. Supp. 2d 757, 2012 WL 262550, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/31800-wick-road-holdings-llc-v-future-lodging-airport-inc-mied-2012.