Baker Boyer Nat'l Bank v. James Patterson Foust, Jr.

431 P.3d 131
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 18, 2018
Docket35526-8
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 431 P.3d 131 (Baker Boyer Nat'l Bank v. James Patterson Foust, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baker Boyer Nat'l Bank v. James Patterson Foust, Jr., 431 P.3d 131 (Wash. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

FILED OCTOBER 18, 2018 In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

BAKER BOYER NATIONAL BANK, ) ) No. 35526-8-III Respondent, ) ) v. ) ) JAMES PATTERSON FOUST, JR., ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) Appellant. )

SIDDOWAY, J. — The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Baker

Boyer National Bank and entered judgment against James Foust Jr. for the more than $1

million owed by his limited liability company—a debt that Mr. Foust had personally

guaranteed. Mr. Foust appeals, contending the court erred in summarily dismissing his

counterclaims alleging fraud in the inducement and negligent misrepresentation, and in

denying reconsideration. We find no error or abuse of discretion and affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This case arises out of a failed investment opportunity originally conceived in

2012 by Greenflex Housing, LLC, (Greenflex1) during an oil boom in North Dakota’s

1 For simplicity, we refer to Greenflex Housing, LLC as “Greenflex.” Other Greenflex entities exist, but we have no occasion to refer to any of them in this opinion. No. 35526-8-III Baker Boyer Nat’l Bank v. Foust

Bakken oil field. The oil boom created a housing need that a Washington resident, John

Eakin, and several friends concluded could be profitably addressed by delivering

Greenflex modular homes to locations where oil field housing was needed. Mr. Eakin,

who served as Greenflex’s chief executive officer at relevant times, offered the following

explanation of its business plan:

Greenflex Housing LLC is a company we formed to provide portable worker housing for construction, oil, gas, pipeline, and virtually anyone who has a need for housing in hard to reach areas. Our company basically has “unit owners” who purchase Greenflex homes from the Greenflex factory in Salem, Oregon. After looking at the information on how we build those homes you will understand why we exclusively use the Greenflex brand. Super insulated concrete structures that are fire proof, waterproof, mold proof, and virtually indestructible are the perfect solution for rental worker housing. The fact that they are portable makes for ease of placement in hard to a [sic] build areas with limited infrastructure. The basic idea is to have several “unit Owners” who pool their homes into Greenflex Housing, LLC so we can be a large housing provider across the nation.

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 110.

One of the early investors in the venture was Jason Sundseth, whose limited

liability company (LLC) purchased 30 modular homes, or “units,” with financing

provided by Baker Boyer Bank. By the spring of 2013, however, Dr. Sundseth wanted to

sell the LLC’s units, which had by then been moved to leased sites in recreational vehicle

(RV) parks in North Dakota. James Foust Jr. learned of the opportunity to purchase the

Sundseth LLC’s units from Cameron Jones, a friend of Mr. Eakin’s. Mr. Jones

introduced Mr. Foust to Dr. Sundseth, Mr. Eakin, and Greenflex’s chief financial officer.

2 No. 35526-8-III Baker Boyer Nat’l Bank v. Foust

In September 2013, Mr. Foust, as managing member of his own LLC, JPF Enterprises

(JPF), entered into an agreement to buy the 30 units from the Sundseth LLC, contingent

on reaching financing terms with the bank. The agreement provided for a $52,150 sales

commission to Mr. Jones, to be paid by JPF.2

JPF agreed to purchase the 30 units for $1,245,000, approximately $1,000,000 of

which would be paid to the bank in order to discharge the bank’s liens. Mr. Foust had not

done business with the bank before, but began corresponding with one of its loan officers,

Chris Sentz, on or before June 4, 2013. In e-mails exchanged on that date, Mr. Foust

identified his expectations, which included that he would have a lease agreement with

Greenflex. Mr. Sentz responded with an expression of interest outlining a framework for

financing that assumed that Mr. Foust’s LLC would have a six-year contract with

Greenflex.3 Over the next four months, Mr. Foust, an experienced business owner and

operator, investigated and assessed the potential investment. The bank engaged in its

underwriting process.

2 Mr. Foust later speculated that Mr. Jones was retained by the bank to offload the Sundseth LLC’s investment, but there is no evidence that Mr. Jones had a connection with the bank. The fact that his commission was paid by JPF suggests that he was acting on Mr. Foust’s behalf, not the bank’s. 3 Mr. Sentz’s communication’s stated assumption was “a negotiated ‘6 year’ contract with John Eakin,” but it is undisputed that the bank contemplated a contract with Greenflex, presumably to be executed by Eakin as CEO. CP at 107.

3 No. 35526-8-III Baker Boyer Nat’l Bank v. Foust

On October 17, 2013, Mr. Foust, as the managing member of JPF, executed a

$1,077,600 promissory note in favor of the bank to close its purchase of the 30 units. The

bank required, and Mr. Foust individually signed, a commercial guaranty. Among Mr.

Foust’s representations and warranties in the guaranty was his agreement “that, absent a

request for information, Lender shall have no obligation to disclose to Guarantor any

information or documents acquired by Lender in the course of its relationship with

Borrower.” CP at 12.

JPF made its last payment on the note a couple of years later, on November 2,

2015. On March 4, 2016, the bank declared JPF in default, accelerated the loan, and

demanded payment. In December 2016, it brought the action below, suing Mr. Foust

individually on his guaranty. In response to the bank’s motion for default or summary

judgment, Mr. Foust answered and counterclaimed, alleging fraudulent inducement and

negligent misrepresentation.

When deposed, Mr. Foust was unable to identify any affirmative misrepresentation

made to him by representatives of the bank, but he believed that misrepresentations might

be uncovered through discovery. He also relied for his fraud and negligent

misrepresentation claims on “sin[s] of omission.” CP at 203. This was based on his

belief that bank employees knew but failed to tell him about problems Greenflex had in

2013 with Badlands LLC, the rental manager for Greenflex’s units in North Dakota.

Badlands also turned out to be the party holding lease rights to the RV sites where the

4 No. 35526-8-III Baker Boyer Nat’l Bank v. Foust

units were located. Badlands filed a lawsuit against Greenflex on or about July 12, 2013,

in which it reportedly obtained a temporary restraining order against Greenflex. The case

was compromised and settled, and the claims against Greenflex were dismissed four

weeks later, on August 9, 2013.

The trial court granted summary judgment in the bank’s favor. In a motion for

reconsideration, Mr. Foust for the first time argued that the bank had violated the Equal

Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1691, and sought to retract his admission in

answering the bank’s complaint that he entered into the commercial guaranty on behalf of

his marital community. The trial court denied the motion. Mr. Foust appeals.

ANALYSIS

I. THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT DISMISSING MR. FOUST’S CLAIMS

Mr. Foust argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because

genuine issues of material fact exist that require trial.

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Related

Baker Boyer National Bank v. JPF Enterprises, LLC
2019 ND 76 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2019)

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Bluebook (online)
431 P.3d 131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baker-boyer-natl-bank-v-james-patterson-foust-jr-washctapp-2018.