425 Beecher, L.L.C. v. Unizan Bank, National Ass'n

927 N.E.2d 46, 186 Ohio App. 3d 214
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 9, 2010
DocketNo. 08AP-1045
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 927 N.E.2d 46 (425 Beecher, L.L.C. v. Unizan Bank, National Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
425 Beecher, L.L.C. v. Unizan Bank, National Ass'n, 927 N.E.2d 46, 186 Ohio App. 3d 214 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Brown, Judge.

{¶ 1} This is an appeal by plaintiff-appellant, 425 Beecher, L.C.C. (“425 Beecher”), from a decision and entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, denying 425 Beecher’s motion for partial summary judgment and granting the cross-motion for summary judgment of defendants-appellees, Unizan Bank, National Association (“Unizan Bank”), and Unizan Financial Corporation (“Uni[217]*217zan Financial”), (collectively “appellees”). 425 Beecher also appeals from the trial court’s decision and entry denying its motion for reconsideration and cross-motion for summary judgment and granting appellees’ motion for summary judgment as to the remaining counts of the complaint.

2} The following factual background is taken primarily from the trial court’s decision and entry filed October 10, 2007. 425 Beecher and 3780 Ridge Mill, L.L.C. (“3780 Ridge Mill”), are limited-liability corporations formed by Sayed Vakilian for the purpose of owning real estate investment properties.

{¶ 3} On June 10, 2003, Unizan Bank issued a commitment letter to 425 Beecher, agreeing to loan 425 Beecher the sum of $840,000 to refinance a real estate investment. The loan had a ten-year maturity period, and the commitment letter allowed 425 Beecher to choose between two interest-rate options. Under the first option, 425 Beecher could select an interest rate that was fixed for the first five years, adjustable annually thereafter, with a prepayment penalty of one percent on any principal repaid during the first six years.

{¶ 4} Under the second option, the borrower could select a “ten (10) year fixed interest rate through the FixPlus Program plus a margin of two and one quarter percent (2.25%).” Unizan Bank’s “Ten Year FixPlus Program” (“FixPlus loan”) provided for “prepayment consideration,” rather than a penalty, if the outstanding principal amount of the note was prepaid before maturity. Specifically, in the event the borrower prepaid the loan (in part or in whole) prior to maturity, the borrower “may either pay or receive a prepayment consideration, which consideration would be depend[e]nt upon interest rates at the time of prepayment,” with such amount to be “determined according to the Promissory Note.”

{¶ 5} The trial court cited the purpose of prepayment consideration as affording protection to both the lender and the borrower, and to lessening the risks associated with rising or falling interest rates by sharing the corresponding benefits. More specifically, the trial court observed:

Without prepayment consideration, after the loan is made the borrower benefits from rising interest rates because the borrower repays the loan at below-market rates. At the same time, the lender earns less on the borrower’s lower-rate loan than it could if those funds were available to loan at current higher-market rates. Likewise, when interest rates fall after the loan is made, the lender benefits because it receives a higher rate of return from the borrower than it could if it had to loan those funds at current market rates.
Prepayment consideration allows the lender to also benefit from rising interest rates because the lender can use the prepaid principal to fund a new loan at a higher rate. When a lender pays consideration to a borrower for prepaying the principal on a lower-rate note, the lender in effect shares with the borrower the additional profits it earns from the higher-rate loan the [218]*218lender made with the funds the borrower prepaid. Falling interest rates permit the borrower to refinance at a lower rate, so the borrower gives the lender consideration for prepaid principal on a higher-rate note, at least partly compensating the lender for the lower rate it will receive when it loans the funds the borrower prepaid.

{¶ 6} 425 Beecher selected the FixPlus loan and, on July 14, 2003, Unizan Bank and 425 Beecher executed a promissory note for a ten-year term. The promissory note was prepared by Unizan Bank and contained a provision for calculating a prepayment consideration amount “[u]pon prepayment of all or any portion of the principal amount of the Note,” whereby either the lender or the borrower “may be entitled to receive payment of a prepayment consideration.” Vakilian also signed a commercial mortgage guaranty for the loan.

{¶ 7} In June 2005, Vakilian entered into contracts for the sale of four real estate properties held by several of his limited-liability companies, one of which included the 425 Beecher property secured by the 2003 promissory note. On July 22, 2005, Vakilian sent a letter to Unizan Bank, requesting that the bank calculate the prepayment-consideration amount as of August 1, 2005. Vakilian claimed that Unizan Bank subsequently refused to honor the terms regarding the prepayment consideration based upon Vakilian’s contention that 425 Beecher was entitled, under the terms of the formula set forth in the promissory note, to prepayment consideration in the amount of $213,524.63 as of the date of prepayment (August 1, 2005).

{¶ 8} On October 21, 2005, 425 Beecher, 3780 Ridge Mill, and Vakilian filed a complaint against appellees, seeking declaratory relief and alleging causes of action for breach of contract, fraud, intentional interference with business relations, and negligence. On May 22, 2006, appellees filed an answer and counterclaim, asserting causes of action for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and declaratory judgment. On July 28, 2006, 425 Beecher and the other plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts 1 (breach of contract), 3 (declaratory judgment), 4 (breach of contract), and 6 (declaratory judgment) of the complaint. On August 28, 2006, appellees filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion for partial summary judgment.

{¶ 9} On October 15, 2006, appellees filed a cross-motion for summary judgment as to Count 1 of their counterclaim, asserting that Unizan Bank made a drafting error in the prepayment consideration clause of the promissory note issued to 425 Beecher. Specifically, appellees argued that, instead of using the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a reference for a margin (or spread), the individual who drafted the note mistakenly used language that included the one-month LIBOR rate itself in the formula. According to appellees, by removing the erroneous one-month LIBOR rate from the calculation, [219]*219Unizan Bank owed 425 Beecher prepayment consideration in the amount of $14,384 (rather than $213,524.63 as claimed by 425 Beecher) as of the August 1, 2005 prepayment date. Appellees sought reformation of the promissory note based upon unilateral mistake. 425 Beecher filed a memorandum against appellees’ cross-motion for summary judgment.

{¶ 10} By decision and entry filed October 10, 2007, the trial court denied 425 Beecher’s motion for partial summary judgment on Counts 1 (breach of contract) and 3 (declaratory judgment) and granted appellees’ cross-motion for summary judgment, finding that appellees made a unilateral mistake in drafting the prepayment-consideration language. The trial court further determined that reformation of the promissory note was the appropriate remedy. On December 6, 2007, 425 Beecher filed a motion for reconsideration. On December 27, 2007, appellees filed a motion for summary judgment as to the remaining counts of the complaint. On January 17, 2007, 425 Beecher filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
927 N.E.2d 46, 186 Ohio App. 3d 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/425-beecher-llc-v-unizan-bank-national-assn-ohioctapp-2010.