Bernstein v. Flagstar Bank, FSN

524 S.E.2d 241, 240 Ga. App. 535, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 3991, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 1400
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedOctober 27, 1999
DocketA99A1958
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 524 S.E.2d 241 (Bernstein v. Flagstar Bank, FSN) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bernstein v. Flagstar Bank, FSN, 524 S.E.2d 241, 240 Ga. App. 535, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 3991, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 1400 (Ga. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Eldridge, Judge.

Defendant-appellant Steven Bernstein, a mortgage broker licensed in Georgia and owner of Georgia Mortgage Assistance (GMA), appeals from the DeKalb County State Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff-appellee Flagstar Bank, FSN, formerly known as First Security Savings Bank (“Flagstar”). We affirm.

This case arises out of a verified complaint for breach of contract filed by Flagstar in July 1997. The contract was an August 1993 correspondent agreement between Bernstein and Flagstar, a mortgage underwriter. Under the contract, Bernstein agreed to offer for sale to Flagstar his interest in residential mortgage loans originated by his company. The contract did not allow Bernstein to sell loans originated by third parties. Section 6 of the contract also required Bernstein to be licensed and qualified to transact business as a mortgage broker in Georgia.

Further, section 2 of the contract read as follows:

C. Correspondent [Bernstein] represents, covenants and warrants that any loan it submits to [Flagstar] for approval shall be in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances, and regulations[.] . . . E. Correspondent agrees that upon written request Correspondent shall immediately repurchase from [Flagstar] any closed loan that is not in compliance with the above statutes, ordinances, and regulations ... or if [Flagstar] discovers that the correspondent or the individual borrower committed fraud in connection with the Mortgage Loan.

[536]*536In May 1995, pursuant to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Flagstar discovered that several mortgage loans submitted by Bernstein under this contract had been fraudulently obtained. The FBI found that an individual paid Bernstein a fee to use Bernstein’s broker’s license and fax machine to obtain loans from several mortgage companies. Such loans were based upon applications which contained fictitious borrowers and fraudulent qualifying paperwork.

However, the summaries of these loans identified Bernstein as the correspondent, and the loan documents identified GMA as the originator. Bernstein was the only licensed mortgage broker working for GMA, and the loans were submitted under the authority of this license pursuant to the correspondent agreement. Origination fees were paid directly to Bernstein by closing attorneys. Bernstein then paid the individual, later identified as John Greene, 80 percent of the origination fee, while Bernstein retained 20 percent.

Upon discovering the fraud, Flagstar mailed to Bernstein a letter demanding that Bernstein repurchase the loans for a total of $1,719,372.40, pursuant to Section 2. E. of the contract. When Bernstein refused, Flagstar mitigated its losses by selling the properties at foreclosure. The remaining balance on the loans, plus costs of foreclosure and sale, was $270,569.57. Flagstar filed suit in July 1997 and filed a motion for summary judgment in May 1998. The trial court granted the motion in April 1999, and Bernstein appealed. Held:

1. In his first enumeration, Bernstein contends that venue was improper. However, Bernstein failed to raise this defense in his answer to the complaint and, further, admitted that jurisdiction and venue were proper. Therefore, this asserted error is waived. OCGA § 9-11-12 (h) (1) (B); see also Michigan Court Rules § 2.221.1

2. In his second enumeration, Bernstein claims that summary judgment was inappropriate because a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether the correspondent agreement applied only to loans originated by Bernstein and not to loans originated by others. This claim is without merit.

In its order granting summary judgment, the trial court found as a matter of law that the contract terms were not ambiguous. See OCGA §§ 13-2-1; 13-2-2; see also Wickliffe v. Wickliffe, 227 Ga. App. [537]*537432, 435 (2) (489 SE2d 153) (1997); Zurich Ins. Co. v. CCR & Co., 226 Mich. App. 599, 604 (576 NW2d 392) (1997). Neither party disputes this finding. In its summary judgment order, the trial court specifically found as an undisputed fact that “[t]he agreement did not provide that [Bernstein] could sell residential mortgage loans originated by third parties.” Accordingly, the trial court agreed with Bernstein’s contention that the agreement applied only to loans “originated” by him. There was no error.

3. However, Bernstein contends that a jury issue exists as to who actually “originated” the loans at issue in this litigation. In support of his contention, Bernstein claims that John Greene performed many of the preliminary functions in preparing the loan application documents, i.e., meeting the buyers, verifying employment and tax returns, ordering credit reports, and obtaining appraisals. Bernstein contends that he should be relieved of liability under the agreement if it is established that Greene, in fact, originated the loans. This argument lacks merit.

Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 (c). A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.

(Citation and punctuation omitted.) McCoy v. West Bldg. Materials, 232 Ga. App. 620 (502 SE2d 559) (1998). See also Pitsch v. ESE Mich., 233 Mich. App. 578 (593 NW2d 565) (1999); Marcelle v. Taubman, 224 Mich. App. 215 (568 NW2d 393) (1997). A case may be decided as a matter of law “where, as here, the evidence shows clearly and palpably that the jury could reasonably draw but one conclusion. [Cit.]” Feely v. First American Bank, 206 Ga. App. 53, 55 (1) (424 SE2d 345) (1992). See also Moll v. Abbott Labs., 444 Mich. 1, 28 (506 NW2d 816) (1993).

The correspondent agreement was between Bernstein, in his personal capacity as sole proprietor of GMA, and Flagstar; no other parties were involved. The agreement specifically states that Bernstein agreed to offer for sale its interest in loans “originated by Correspondent,” i.e., Bernstein. Further, the repurchase provision of the contract applied only to loan applications “submit[ted]” to Flagstar under its agreement with Bernstein. Simply stated, Bernstein was the only person who could submit loan documents to Flagstar under the correspondent agreement, and Bernstein was the only person who could be held liable for the repurchase of any loans which were [538]*538submitted under the correspondent agreement if the loans either violated the contract provisions or were secured through fraud. Therefore, the fact that Bernstein allowed the loan documents to be submitted to Flagstar under the agreement and obtained the benefit therefrom serves as an admission that Bernstein “originated” such applications, and he is estopped from asserting otherwise. See OCGA § 24-4-24 (b) (8); Walker v. Sutton, 222 Ga. App.

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Bluebook (online)
524 S.E.2d 241, 240 Ga. App. 535, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 3991, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 1400, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bernstein-v-flagstar-bank-fsn-gactapp-1999.