Bank of the Ozarks v. Khan

903 F. Supp. 2d 1370, 2012 WL 5451634
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 7, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 1:11-CV-2576-ODE
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 903 F. Supp. 2d 1370 (Bank of the Ozarks v. Khan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of the Ozarks v. Khan, 903 F. Supp. 2d 1370, 2012 WL 5451634 (N.D. Ga. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

ORINDA D. EVANS, District Judge.

This action to recover on a note is before the Court on Motions to Dismiss and a Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses. This case involves a dispute among former business partners in various real estate investments. For the following reasons, Bank of the Ozarks’ Motion to Dismiss Counterclaims and Strike Affirmative Defenses [Doc. 38] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Rahim Sabadia and Ishtiaq Khan’s Counterclaims against Bank of the Ozarks are barred by the D’Oench Duhme doctrine and that doctrine’s codification in 12 U.S.C. § 1823(e) and must be DISMISSED. Sabadia and Khan’s Affirmative Defenses of failure of consideration and fraud are insufficient as a factual and legal matter and are STRICKEN. Sabadia and Khan’s Motion [1373]*1373for Leave to File Amended Answer and Counterclaim [Doc. 55] is DENIED. Sabadia and Khan’s Motion to Dismiss Shailendra’s Amended Crossclaim [Doc. 46] is DENIED. M. Shailendra’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 69] is DISMISSED AS MOOT without prejudice to its renewal.

I. Procedural and Factual Background

This original Complaint in this action [Doc. 1] was filed on August 4, 2011 by Bank of the Ozarks (the “Bank”) against Ishtiaq Khan (“Khan”), M. Shailendra (“Shailendra”), and Rahim Sabadia (“Sabadia”), collectively referred to as “Defendants”. The Complaint alleges that Defendants executed a promissory note in favor of Park Avenue Bank in the principal amount of $1,620,000 on October 23, 2008 as a renewal of a prior indebtedness (the “Note”) [Doc. 1 at 3].1 The Complaint further alleges that Defendants failed to make payments on the Note and failed to pay the Note by the maturity date of October 25, 2009 [Id. at 4].

On April 29, 2011, Park Avenue Bank was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) was appointed receiver thereof [Id.]. On that same date, the FDIC and Bank of the Ozarks, plaintiff in this action, entered into a Purchase and Assumption Agreement, whereby Bank of the Ozarks purchased the loan documents at issue in this action. The Bank provided written notice of default to Defendants on July 30, 2011 [Id. at 5-6, Doc. 1-3].

In this action, the Bank alleges counts of breach of contract and unjust enrichment based on the failure to pay on the Note. The Bank seeks actual and compensatory damages as well as attorney’s fees and expenses. The Court has diversity jurisdiction over these state law claims as the Bank was created under Arkansas law and has its principal place of business in Arkansas, Khan and Shailendra are both domiciled in Georgia, Sabadia is domiciled in California and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 [Doc. 1 at 2]. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

On September 28, 2011 Sabadia and Khan jointly filed an Answer to the Complaint [Doc. 12], which they supplemented on October 24, 2011 [Doc. 21], In the Answers, Sabadia and Khan assert the defenses of, inter alia: failure to state a claim, mutual departure, novation, failure of consideration, fraud, waiver, estoppel, setoff and recoupment, ratification, and failure to mitigate damages.

In support of the fraud defense, Sabadia and Kahn allege that they secured two loans from Park Avenue Bank. The first loan for $3,350,000 was executed on August 4, 2003 and was used to purchase a tract of land (“Loan One”). This note was secured by the tract of land and another tract of land bought on June 20, 2003.2 Sabadia and Khan also obtained a second loan (“Loan Two”) from Park Avenue Bank in the amount of $1,255,000 on July 19, 2004 which was used to purchase a third tract of land [Id. at 4]. This loan was secured by a security deed on this third tract of land.

[1374]*1374Unbeknownst to Sabadia and Khan, Park Avenue Bank also extended an unsecured line of personal credit to Shailendra, with a loan number ending 1181 [Id. at 5], Sabadia and Khan allege that Shailendra and Park Avenue Bank, along with its officers, modified the security deed on the first and second tracts of land by increasing the indebtedness secured by a million dollars [Id. at 5]. When the tract of land originally bought June 20, 2003 was sold at a profit, the proceeds were not used to pay off Loans One and Two as required by the sale’s title commitment [Id. at 5-6], Instead, the proceeds were used to pay off only Loan One and were also used to pay $800,000 towards Shailendra’s personal loan with the nearly $544,000 remaining deposited into Shailendra’s personal checking account [Id. at 5-6]. Shailendra also kept for his personal use Sabadia and Khan’s shares of the proceeds of the sale [id. at 6].

Sabadia and Khan allege that on October 25, 2006, Sabadia and Khan signed a renewal note which they believed renewed Loan Two and increased the principal amount of Loan Two from $1,255,000 to $1,800,000 (referred to a the “Renewal Loan”) [Doc. 21 at 7]. The note evidencing this Renewal Loan is not part of the record. Sabadia and Khan allege that the document evidencing the Renewal Loan, unbeknownst to them, included two loan numbers as the loans they were renewing: Loan Two and Shailendra’s personal loan [Id. at 7]. Thus, Sabadia and Khan allege they unwittingly became responsible for Shailendra’s personal loan by signing this Renewal Loan. The Renewal Loan was allegedly disbursed as follows: $959,756.67 was used to pay off Shailendra’s personal loan, $553,588.67 was used to pay off Loan Two and $215,000 was deposited into Shailendra’s personal account [Id.].

In October 2008, the parties executed a renewal of the Renewal Loan for a total amount of $1,620,000 (the “Second Renewal Loan”). The loan number documented by the Note ends 9085; it does not reference Shailendra’s personal loan [Doc. 1-1]. It is this Note evidencing the renewal on which the Bank sues in this action. The Second Renewal Loan Note purports to be used to “Renew loan for equity injection in investment”-[M].

The Bank seeks to strike Sabadia and Khan’s Affirmative Defenses, largely under the D’Oeñch, Duhme doctrine [Doc. 38]. Sabadia and Khan have responded in opposition to the Motion to Dismiss and Strike [Doc. 53], and the Bank has replied [Doc. 61].

Sabadia and Khan also jointly asserted a Counterclaim against the Bank [Doc. 21 at 16]. Sabadia and Khan allege in the Counterclaim that Park Avenue Bank owed them a fiduciary duty, but breached that duty by aiding and abetting their investment partner, Shailendra, in defrauding them. Sabadia and Khan’s allegations describe instances in which Shailendra was allowed to endorse and apply checks made payable to corporate entities to his personal banking account [Id. at 17-18]. Sabadia and Khan also allege that Shailendra deposited checks made payable to Park Avenue Bank into his personal account, rather than the account of the drawer of the check [Id. at 18-19], Sabadia and Khan also allege instances in which Shailendra transferred funds from corporate accounts to his personal accounts to cover his overdrafts [Id. at 20]. Sabadia and Khan seek declaratory relief and setoff and recoupment [Doc. 21 at 23-25]. The Bank seeks to dismiss Sabadia and- Khan’s Counterclaim under the

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Bluebook (online)
903 F. Supp. 2d 1370, 2012 WL 5451634, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-the-ozarks-v-khan-gand-2012.