Berggren v. Sun Oil Co.

79 F.R.D. 87, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17297
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJune 9, 1978
DocketNo. 77-C-42
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 79 F.R.D. 87 (Berggren v. Sun Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berggren v. Sun Oil Co., 79 F.R.D. 87, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17297 (E.D. Wis. 1978).

Opinion

DECISION and ORDER

MYRON L. GORDON, District Judge.

This action is before me on the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on its counterclaim. I find that there is no issue of material fact and that the defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted.

The plaintiffs are the owners of two car wash businesses and the corporate owners of the land on which such businesses are located. The defendant, Sun Oil Company, is engaged in the business of selling petroleum products, including gasoline, at wholesale. The claim and counterclaim in this action arise out of certain agreements entered into by the parties concerning the financing and gas supplying arrangements for the plaintiffs’ car wash businesses.

The plaintiffs’ complaint seeks recovery for various antitrust violations, a violation of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, and fraud allegedly committed by the defendant. The defendant’s counterclaim seeks to recover on certain notes, guarantees, and debts for goods sold on open account, and also seeks to foreclose on certain security interests and a mortgage. The following facts concerning the defendant’s counterclaim are undisputed.

On April 26, 1968, the plaintiffs Gertrude and Floyd Berggren jointly and severally executed a note in the principal amount of $70,000 at 7% interest, which obligated them to pay to the defendant $812.77 per month, until the full $70,000 was paid (the Cudahy note). The note was guaranteed individually by Floyd and Gertrude Berggren, and the indebtedness was secured by a mortgage, with the defendant as mortgagee, on the real estate of the Packard Avenue car wash, and by a security interest, with the defendant as the secured party, in the car wash equipment for the Packard Avenue car wash. The Cudahy note was executed in return for a loan made by the [89]*89defendant to the plaintiffs to assist them in financing the start-up expenses for the Packard Avenue car wash in Cudahy, Wisconsin.

A similar arrangement was entered into on September 30, 1968, for the plaintiffs’ Racine car wash in Racine, Wisconsin. The defendant lent Floyd, Gertrude and Beverlie Berggren $85,000 and the Berggrens executed a note for that amount at 7% interest which required them jointly and severally to pay $986.94 per month until the $85,-000, plus interest, was paid (the Racine note). Floyd Berggren individually guaranteed the note. The defendant was made mortgagee and secured party respectively in the mortgage for the real property on which the Racine car wash was located and in a security agreement for which the car wash equipment was listed as collateral.

The Berggrens have defaulted on their obligations under both notes. Under the terms of the notes the entire principal sums, together with interest, have become due. Also pursuant to the terms of the notes, the plaintiffs upon default are obligated to pay a reasonable attorney’s fee and all costs of collection. With respect to the Cudahy note, the defendant is owed $45,100.01 in outstanding principal, plus $12,022.18 in interest computed to March 31,1977, and the interest which has accrued since March 31, 1977. With respect to the Racine note, the defendant is owed $77,-006.74 in outstanding principal, plus $23,-918.35 in interest computed to March 31, 1977, plus interest accruing after March 31, 1977.

After both of the plaintiffs’ car wash businesses went into operation, the defendant agreed to sell gasoline for resale at the car wash facilities, using the defendant’s “load-to-load” credit program, under which the retailer always has one load of gasoline on credit. On February 27, 1969, Gertrude Berggren executed a personal guarantee for the payment by the two corporate owners of the two car washes of their obligations under the “load-to-load” credit program.

With respect to the Packard Avenue car wash, there remains $6,140.29 due and owing for sales of gasoline by the defendant. There remains $7,892.53 due and owing to the defendant for its sales of gasoline to the Racine car wash.

The defendant’s counterclaim seeks foreclosure of the mortgage on the Cudahy property, judgment for the amount owing on the Cudahy note, for the amount owed for gasoline sold on open account to the plaintiffs for resale at their Cudahy facility, and for foreclosure of the security interest in the equipment at the Cudahy facility. Pursuant to an agreement of the parties, the defendant does not seek foreclosure of the mortgage on the Racine property. Judgment is sought for the amounts owing on the Racine note, for the amount owed for gasoline sold on open account to the plaintiffs for resale at the Racine facility, and for foreclosure of the security interest in the equipment at the Racine facility. The counterclaim also seeks recovery on the guarantees of Gertrude Berggren made in connection with the “load-to-load” credit program.

In their brief in opposition to the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs do not dispute that they are in default on their respective obligations, and there is no challenge to the defendant’s computations of the amounts owing. However, paragraph 10 of the affidavit of the plaintiffs’ counsel contains the following statement:

“As to the amounts claimed as owing on the NOTE(S) and open accounts, Floyd Berggren has maintained his accountant and former Car-Wash managers are the ones who have knowledge to question the accuracy or legality of either the Note balances or open account balances. Plaintiffs have denied the validity of the balances claimed for reasons of refusal of SUN to credit 2.65$ to all purchases of petroleum products and, further, because SUN’s breach of Contract(s) goes to the very heart of this motion (the notes).”

This statement, in my judgment, is insufficient to raise a genuine issue for trial. Rule 56(e), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, requires that affidavits be made on personal knowledge and prohibits the [90]*90party opposing summary judgment from resting on the allegations or denials of its pleading. The responding affidavits “must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Aside from the ambiguity of the statement in the affidavit quoted above, the affiant’s response that Floyd Berggren maintains that his accountant has the information necessary to controvert the averments of fact in the defendant’s affidavit is obviously not made on the affiant’s personal knowledge. Furthermore, no specific fact has been set forth to dispute the defendant’s affidavit; the plaintiffs have simply informed the court that they have no specific information which disputes that provided by the defendant.

The plaintiffs’ brief in opposition to the motion for summary judgment presents arguments tracking their affirmative defenses set forth in the reply. Basically, the plaintiffs’ position is that the counterclaim does not involve a simple collection on a promissory note but rather involves issues that are intertwined with those raised by the complaint. I disagree.

The defendant correctly argues that an affirmative defense that certain provisions of the agreement pursuant to which a debt is created may violate federal antitrust laws is insufficient in an action to recover on the debt. Kelly v. Kosuga, 358 U.S. 516, 79 S.Ct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 F.R.D. 87, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17297, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berggren-v-sun-oil-co-wied-1978.