Bank of Commerce & Industry v. Rolls Construction Corp. (In re Rolls Construction Corp.)

74 B.R. 1005, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1071
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.
DecidedJuly 6, 1987
DocketBankruptcy Nos. 83-01417-BKC-AJC to 83-01419-BKC-AJC; Adv. Nos. 83-0852-BKC-AJC to 83-0854-BKC-AJC
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 74 B.R. 1005 (Bank of Commerce & Industry v. Rolls Construction Corp. (In re Rolls Construction Corp.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of Commerce & Industry v. Rolls Construction Corp. (In re Rolls Construction Corp.), 74 B.R. 1005, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1071 (Fla. 1987).

Opinion

[1006]*1006FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ON REMAND

A. JAY CRISTOL, Bankruptcy Judge.

THIS CAUSE having come on to be heard on February 12 and March 14, 1987, upon remand for further proceedings from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the Court, having heard the testimony and examined the evidence presented, having observed the candor and demeanor of the witnesses, having considered the arguments of counsel, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, does hereby make the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

THE PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Bank of Commerce & Industry (“BCI”) commenced this adversary proceeding by filing a complaint on October 28, 1983. A second amended complaint was filed December 30, 1983. BCI sought to determine the amount, validity, and priority among mortgages and liens asserted against parcels of real property known as Sutton Place and owned by Sutton Place Development Co. (“Sutton Place”), the debtor in this bankruptcy proceeding, and to foreclose its own second mortgage and sell the property. On February 28, 1984, the adversary proceeding was tried before my predecessor, the Honorable Joseph A. Gassen. On September 7,1984, Judge Gas-sen entered Findings and Conclusions together with a Final Judgment Determining Amount, Validity and Priority of Liens and Foreclosing Mortgage, and held that the mortgage of Defendant, George D. Perl-man, Trustee (“Perlman”), was both valid and first in priority, established the amount of principal, accrued interest through the date of judgment, and per diem interest thereafter, and granted BCI a judgment of foreclosure subject only to the lien of the superior Perlman Mortgage. A foreclosure sale was held on November 9, 1984, and BCI bid in its lien and obtained title to the real property, subject to the Perlman Mortgage, pursuant to a Certificate of Title dated December 5, 1984.

BCI appealed. Perlman cross appealed certain of the Findings and Conclusions of [1007]*1007the Bankruptcy Court. Three issues were considered by the District Court: (1) the finding that Perlman’s attorneys’ fees were secured by the lien of his mortgage; (2) the finding that BCI consented to the two extension agreements between Sutton Place and Florida National Properties, Inc., in which the interest rate under the first mortgage was modified from 9% to YJlh%, or alternatively that BCI was estopped to deny subordination of its mortgage to those extension agreements; and (3) the finding that BCI had no right to redeem the Perlman Mortgage and, further, that BCI never made a proper tender. Perlman cross appealed two issues: (1) the finding that the Perlman Mortgage secured interest at the rate of 9% rather than Yllk% under the third extension agreement from March 17, 1983 until June 17, 1983, and (2) the application of a default interest rate of 18% rather than 25% under the Perlman Mortgage.

In its Order dated August 16, 1985, the District Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Bankruptcy Court and remanded this case to the Bankruptcy Court for further evidentiary proceedings on the following issues: (1) whether a valid third extension agreement was entered into between Sutton Place and Perlman which cured the defaults under the Florida National mortgage and extinguished BCI’s right to redeem, and (2) if not, whether BCI made a legally proper tender to redeem the Florida National mortgage. The District Court held that further supplemental evidentiary proceedings were necessary to substantiate in the record the finding that (a) an effective extension of the first mortgage cured Sutton Place’s default and cut off BCI’s right to redeem, and (b) even if BCI had the right to redeem, it made an invalid and conditional tender; and (2) as to Perlman’s cross-appeal, the District Court (a) reserved ruling on whether the third extension interest rate of 17V2% was fully secured by the Perlman Mortgage until the Bankruptcy Court in supplemental evidentiary proceedings supported its initial finding that the extension was valid, and (b) held that the appropriate default interest rate under the third extension agreement, if valid, was 25% instead of 18% per annum because Perlman renewed the loan for a principal amount in excess of $500,000.00.

Thus, this Court considered only the limited issues on remand in the supplemental evidentiary proceedings: (1) whether a valid third extension agreement between Sutton Place and Perlman cured the default and extinguished BCI’s right to redeem, and (2) if not, whether BCI made a legally proper tender.

THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Perlman Mortgage originated as a purchase money mortgage on the eastern parcel of the Sutton Place condominium development,, in the principal amount of $442,500 at 9% interest, given by Sutton Place to Florida National Properties, Inc. (“Florida National”), the original holder, on September 30, 1980, and payable on April 30, 1981. On October 1,1980, Sutton Place gave BCI a mortgage on both the eastern and western parcels of the development in the amount of $1,400,000. BCI made two further credit extensions secured by the same mortgage, in the amounts of $121,000 and $200,000. BCI was in second position on the eastern parcel, behind the first mortgage held by Florida National. The junior mortgage held by Abacus Mortgage and Investment Company is no longer in issue because it was foreclosed by BCI at the foreclosure sale held on November 9, 1984.

Because Sutton Place was unable to pay the first mortgage when it came due, Florida National and Sutton Place entered into an agreement extending the due date to October 31, 1981, and modifying the interest rate from 9% to On September 16, 1981, they agreed to a second extension until February 28, 1982, with interest continuing at 17V2% and eliminating the thirty day grace period.

On February 28,1982, the first mortgage went into default. In or around August 1982, Florida National initiated a foreclosure proceeding in which BCI was a defendant and cross-claimed to foreclose its own mortgage.

[1008]*1008On March 17, 1983, the Florida National note and mortgage were assigned to George D. Perlman as Trustee for David J. Deen — Steinberg, Inc. (“Deen”). George Perlman, David J. Deen, and Henry Weiss, principal of Sutton Place, testified that they also entered into a third extension agreement which reinstated and extended the note and mortgage for one year at the pre-existing contractual interest rate of Yllh% per annum on $569,441.96, the total amount of consideration paid by Perlman and the full amount claimed by Florida National, including principal, interest, costs and attorneys’ fees as provided in the note and mortgage. On March 18,1983, Florida National voluntarily dismissed its foreclosure action.

On March 23, 1983, BCI offered Perlman a cashier’s check in the amount of $560,-084.52 expressly conditioned upon there having been no extension of the final due date “thus rendering the subject mortgage and note past due and currently in default.” (March 23, 1983 letter from Mark Butler to George Perlman, Perlman Exhibit C in the 2-28-84 trial). Perlman advised BCI that he could not accept the offer because his beneficiary was on vacation until April 6, 1983, because the offer was incapable of acceptance by its own terms in that the note and mortgage had been extended and were not in default, and because the offer was less than the amount paid by Perlman to acquire the note and mortgage.

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Bluebook (online)
74 B.R. 1005, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1071, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-commerce-industry-v-rolls-construction-corp-in-re-rolls-flsb-1987.