Commercial Bank of Gideon v. Bien Co.

830 S.W.2d 503, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 720, 1992 WL 82543
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 27, 1992
DocketNo. 17474
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 830 S.W.2d 503 (Commercial Bank of Gideon v. Bien Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commercial Bank of Gideon v. Bien Co., 830 S.W.2d 503, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 720, 1992 WL 82543 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinions

MONTGOMERY, Judge.

Plaintiff, Commercial Bank of Gideon (Bank), brought this court-tried action against Bien Co., Inc. (Bien), Terry Fortner, and Lynn Fortner, his wife, d/b/a Fortner Construction Company (Fortner). Judgment by default in favor of the Bank was rendered on Count III of its Second Amended Petition against Terry Fortner and Lynn Fortner in the amount of $20,028 plus accrued interest and attorney fees of $1,743.75. The judgment was based on a promissory note owed the Bank dated Jan[504]*504uary 4, 1989, in the principal sum of $25,-028.

The court rendered judgment in favor of Bien on Count IV of the Bank’s Second Amended Petition, and from that judgment the Bank appeals. Two points are presented for our determination.

Count IV alleged that (a) Fortner borrowed $25,028 on January 4,1989, from the Bank, (b) as security, Fortner gave the Bank an assignment of a contract dated December 14, 1988, between Bien and Fort-ner, (c) by letter of January 4, 1989, Bien consented to the assignment of the aforesaid contract and agreed to make all checks due Fortner from said contract payable to Fortner and the Bank, (d) the bank relied on Bien’s letter in making the loan, and (e) Bien breached its agreement to make checks payable jointly to Fortner and the Bank with resulting damage in the amount of $20,028 plus interest and attorney fees.

Bien’s answer denied Fortner ever made any assignment to the Bank. At trial, Bien admitted sending the letter of January 4, 1989, to the Bank. The Bank admitted no notice of any assignment was ever given to Bien. The Bank’s loan officer testified the Bank relied on the agreement in Bien’s letter in order to make the loan. Bien’s president testified he knew the Bank would rely on his letter agreeing to make payments jointly to Fortner and the Bank. He admitted Bien was never notified not to make checks jointly payable.

The trial court made extensive findings of fact which contain the following relevant portions:1

1. Fortner and Bien entered into a construction contract dated December 14, 1988, which required Fortner to provide materials and labor for the construction of a certain apartment complex in Farming-ton, Missouri.

2. On January 4, 1989, Fortners executed a promissory note and security agreement in favor of the Bank, said note being in the principal sum of $25,028, bearing 13 percent interest per annum and providing for reasonable attorney fees.

3. Bien prepared and signed a letter to the Bank dated January 4, 1989, which confirmed the construction contract with Fortner and consented to Fortner’s use and assignment of that construction contract as collateral to obtain a loan for operating capital. Bien further agreed to make checks to Fortner jointly with the Bank until notified differently.

4. The Bank did not take any written or formal assignment from Fortner. The only indication of any assignment was found in the security agreement where the words “assignment of contract” were found in a paragraph reading, “... I give you a security interest in the property described below. ... 2nd Deed of Trust[,] Assignment of Contract.”

5. Section 11.8 of the construction Subcontract provides in part: “The Subcontractor shall not assign any amounts due or to become due under this subcontract without written notice to the Contractor.”

6. On or after January 4, 1989, Fortner advised Bien that he had not been required to assign any part of the aforesaid construction contract and that the Bank accepted a second deed of trust on his farm.

7. The Bank never communicated, advised, or notified Bien of Fortner’s assignment of said contract until the filing and service of summons which occurred on or after September 25, 1989. The Bank’s normal procedure was to notify the account debtor of any assignments which they took. The Bank did not file any type of record to show the assignment.

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10. Bien made payments [approximately $200,000] to Fortner before September 1, 1989, under the construction contract and prior to Fortner’s default under said contract in August of 1989. None of the payments were made jointly to the Bank. The court finds Fortner defaulted and substantially breached his construction contract with Bien in August 1989.

The evidence presented at trial was essentially undisputed. That evidence fully [505]*505supports the above findings. Critical to our decision is the letter of January 4, 1989, from Bien to the Bank. The first paragraph of the letter confirmed that Fortner had a contract with Bien in the amount of $645,000 for a portion of the construction work on a project in Farming-ton, Missouri. The two remaining paragraphs read as follows:

In addition, please accept this letter as an acknowledgement [sic] and consent to his [Fortner] assignment of contract as collateral [sic] to obtain operating capital.
Therefore, we, Bien Co., Inc., hereby agree to make all checks to Fortner Construction Co., jointly with the Commercial Bank of Gideon for all proceeds from the contract until notified by the bank differently.

Review of this court-tried case is under Rule 73.01(c). This Court is to affirm the trial court’s determination unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, it erroneously declares the law, or it erroneously applies the law. In re Marriage of Lafferty, 788 S.W.2d 359, 361 (Mo.App. 1990).

The Bank’s first point need not be discussed because we believe the case must be reversed on the remaining point. The Bank’s second point recites:

The trial court erred in rejecting [the Bank’s] theory that a contract exists between [the Bank] and [Bien] because a contract by estoppel did exist between the parties in that [Bien’s] letter consenting to the assignment and agreeing to make joint payments was a representation upon which [Bien] intended [the Bank] to rely and [the Bank] did in fact detrimentally rely upon that letter.

The Bank relies on the theory of promissory estoppel based upon the last paragraph of Bien’s letter. The elements of promissory estoppel are: “1) a promise; 2) detrimental reliance on the promise; 3) the promisor should have or did in fact clearly foresee the precise action which the promisee took in reliance; and 4) injustice can only be avoided by enforcement of the promise.” Geisinger v. A & B Farms, Inc., 820 S.W.2d 96, 98 (Mo.App.1991).

Section 90 of the Restatement of the Law of Contracts2 recognized a cause of action for promissory estoppel. It was quoted with approval in In re Jamison’s Estate, 202 S.W.2d 879, 886-87 (Mo.1947). Both parties cite this case in support of their respective positions.

Several Missouri cases have allowed recovery on a promissory estoppel theory. Two such cases are Feinberg v. Pfeiffer Company, 322 S.W.2d 163 (Mo.App.1959), and Katz v. Danny Dare, Inc., 610 S.W.2d 121 (Mo.App.1980). Both cases relied on Jamison and § 90 of the Restatement of Contracts.

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Bluebook (online)
830 S.W.2d 503, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 720, 1992 WL 82543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commercial-bank-of-gideon-v-bien-co-moctapp-1992.