AKAMINE & SONS v. Hawaii Nat. Bank, Honolulu

503 P.2d 424, 54 Haw. 107, 1972 Haw. LEXIS 99
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1972
Docket5129
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 503 P.2d 424 (AKAMINE & SONS v. Hawaii Nat. Bank, Honolulu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
AKAMINE & SONS v. Hawaii Nat. Bank, Honolulu, 503 P.2d 424, 54 Haw. 107, 1972 Haw. LEXIS 99 (haw 1972).

Opinions

[108]*108OPINION OF THE COURT BY

ABE, J.

This case has come before this court on two prior occasions.1 It involves competing claims of the Hawaii National Bank and the American Security Bank for the proceeds of a mortgage foreclosure sale. At issue here are the trial court’s ruling that American Security Bank had standing to contest the amount awarded Hawaii National Bank, its holding that only $24,296.27 was due Hawaii National Bank on its loan, and its award of attorney’s fees to American Security Bank but not to Hawaii National Bank.

The initial controversy was instituted when Akamine 8c Sons, Ltd., brought an action to enjoin the American Security Bank’s sale of property mortgaged by Akamine 8c Sons. Hawaii National Bank, which also held a mortgage on the same property, intervened. The trial court denied the injunction and the property was sold. Aka-mine 8c Sons did not appeal from that order. The suit consisted of disputes between the American Security Bank and the Hawaii National Bank over who had priority to the proceeds of the foreclosure sale.

I. The Standing of a General Creditor to Contest the Amount Due a Mortgagee in a Foreclosure Proceeding.

Hawaii National Bank argues that American Security Bank had no standing to contest its claim against Aka-mine 8c Sons. Hawaii National Bank contends that once it was determined that only two of the loans of American Security Bank were secured, American Security Bank’s only interest in the remainder of the foreclosure proceeds was as a general creditor, and that general creditors have no standing to intrude in a foreclosure proceeding. For that proposition, Hawaii National Bank cites a string of early cases, all of which pre-date the adoption of our liberal rules on joinder of actions and class actions. See, [109]*109e.g., Wightman v. Evanston Yaryan Co., 217 Ill. 371, 75 N.E. 502 (1905); Clinton v. South Shore Natural Gas & Fuel Co., 113 N.Y.S. 289 (Sup. Ct. 1908); Herring v. New York, L.E. & W.R. Co., 105 N.Y. 340, 12 N.E. 763 (1887); Bruce v. Sugg, 109 N.C. 202, 13 S.E. 790 (1891); Tompson v. Huron Lumber Co., 4 Wash. 600, 30 P. 741 (1892).

Those cases are based on the premise that a general creditor does not have an “immediate and present interest” in a foreclosure suit. Clinton v. South Shore Natural Gas & Fuel Co., 113 N.Y.S. 289, 292 (Sup. Ct. 1908). The fallacy of that premise is made obvious by the facts of this case. Akamine & Sons, Ltd., is liable to American Security Bank for certain debts which are not covered by mortgages. Akamine & Sons is bankrupt and has no interest in this litigation. Only Akamine & Sons’ creditors care whether Hawaii National Bank receives more than is due it on its mortgages. Whatever Hawaii National Bank receives will decrease the amount available to the general creditors. Their interest in the case is real and immediate. The fear that multitudes of general creditors would attempt to intervene is not compelling. Where that fear becomes a reality, a court would be justified under our rules to exercise its discretion to make the action manageable. This result is fairer than simply allowing the secured creditor to receive in default whatever he requests. While Akamine & Sons’ trustee in bankruptcy could have contested the amount due Hawaii National Bank, and while American Security Bank might have requested that it be appointed trustee to represent Akamine & Sons, American Security Bank has a real and substantial interest of its own which justifies its participation in the litigation. Thus, the trial court’s decision allowing American Security Bank to contest the amount owed Hawaii National Bank is affirmed.2

[110]*110II. Amount Due Hawaii National Bank.

A. Principal Sums.

The trial court held that the sum of $24,296.27 was due Hawaii National Bank. In so holding, the court found that the original debt had been reduced by various payments.

1. The court found that a payment of $20,022.37 was made on April 24, 1969. However, there is no evidence to indicate that payment was made. While a ledger was produced which included a figure of $20,022.37 in a “payment column,” a notation to that figure indicated that it stated only the amount of accrued interest due. No receipt for a payment on the date in question was produced, and the court’s finding conflicted with other records produced.3

2. As to the sum of $17,500 the trial court stated that “[o]n November 13, 1962, Associated Drugs paid Fixtures Hawaii $17,500 in cash and gave a promissory note for $39,000. On November 13, 1962, Hawaii [National Bank] took an assignment of the accounts receivable of Fixtures Hawaii .... The fact that Exhibit ZZ did not state that Hawaii received the $17,500 is likewise not conclusive. That exhibit indicates that payments of $17,500 and $15,000 were made ‘by Associated Drugs to Fixtures Hawaii, Inc.’ ” Then it stated that though Exhibit ZZ did not indicate that Hawaii National Bank had received payment of $15,000, the bank admitted in a memorandum dated November 11, 1970 that it had received payment of the sum of $15,000 and thus the trial court concluded and found that the sum of $17,500 was [111]*111likewise paid on November 13, 1962. Hawaii National Bank was not required to show non-payment of that sum. The burden of proof is with the party claiming payment, and that burden was upon American Security Bank which was asserting that payment of $17,500 had been made to Hawaii National Bank. Bannister v. Lucas, 21 Haw. 222, 223 (1912). However, it failed to introduce evidence to show such payment. Thus, we find that the trial court erred in reducing the balance owed Hawaii National Bank by the sum of $17,500.

3. The trial court also found that a payment of $24,500 was made on February 3, 1963. The court’s finding was based on a complicated series of transactions, involving several corporations, all of which were apparently owned by the Akamine family. Akamine & Sons apparently had guaranteed loans made by the Hawaii National Bank to Matthews & Associates (also known as Fixtures Hawaii) . Matthews was unable to pay the sum of $24,500 owed to the Bank. However, Associated Drugs owed Matthews a sum of money, but apparently it did not have sufficient cash to pay the debt to Matthews. Therefore, Hawaii National Bank agreed to loan $24,500 to Associated. Hawaii National Bank wrote a check for the amount; Associated immediately endorsed the check to Matthews, and Matthews endorsed the check back to Hawaii National Bank. Hawaii National Bank then stamped Matthews’ note “paid.” The net result of the transaction was that Hawaii National Bank received Associated’s promise to pay $24,500 for Matthews’ promise to pay the same amount.

The general rule is that when a creditor accepts a third party’s note from a debtor, the note is not a final payment extinguishing the debt. The debtor is only released when the third party pays the note. If the parties wish to specifically agree that the acceptance of the third party’s note is a final payment, they may do so, but in [112]*112the absence of a specific agreement, the acceptance of the note becomes a final payment only when the note is subsequently paid. D. Foster & Co. v. Spencer, 3 Haw. 594 (1875); Don Kral Inc. v.

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AKAMINE & SONS v. Hawaii Nat. Bank, Honolulu
503 P.2d 424 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1972)

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Bluebook (online)
503 P.2d 424, 54 Haw. 107, 1972 Haw. LEXIS 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/akamine-sons-v-hawaii-nat-bank-honolulu-haw-1972.