Eisenhart v. Schreimann

889 S.W.2d 887, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1710, 1994 WL 597721
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 1, 1994
DocketNo. 19321
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 889 S.W.2d 887 (Eisenhart v. Schreimann) 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
Eisenhart v. Schreimann, 889 S.W.2d 887, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1710, 1994 WL 597721 (Mo. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

CROW, Judge.

By warranty deed signed October 4, 1990, M.J. Moorhead Development, Inc. (“MJMD”) conveyed Lot 8 in St. Tropez, a subdivision in Camden County, to James B. Eisenhart and Sharon L. Eisenhart. The Eisenharts thereafter built a home on Lot 8 which, according to Mr. Eisenhart, made the property worth over $400,000.

In July, 1992, Great Southern Savings Bank (“Great Southern”) notified the Eisen-harts that (a) Lot 8 was subject to a deed of trust in its favor, securing a note from MJMD payable to Great Southern, (b) the note was delinquent, and (c) Great Southern intended to foreclose.

The Eisenharts (“Plaintiffs”) commenced this action against the successor trustee and Great Southern (“Defendants”), seeking sundry relief including an injunction barring [889]*889foreclosure. A non-jury trial resulted in a judgment for Defendants.

Plaintiffs appeal. Discussion of their three points relied on requires an account of the pertinent facts. Because some details are undeveloped in the record, our narrative is, in certain respects, unavoidably vague.

On April 14, 1989, Michael J. Moorhead and Randa L. Moorhead signed a note payable to Darwin 0. Nichols, secured by a deed of trust on several lots in St. Tropez and other “unplatted” land. The deed of trust was recorded April 20, 1989.

On some later date unrevealed by the record, the Moorheads deeded the land covered by the Nichols deed of trust to MJMD.

On September 19, 1990, MJMD made a $200,000 note payable to Great Southern. It called for interest to be paid monthly, beginning October 19, 1990, and for payment in full of all principal and interest on September 19,1991. MJMD secured the note by a deed of trust on several lots in St. Tropez — including Lot 8 — together with other “unplatted” land. The parties agree that most, if not all, of the land covered by that deed of trust was already subject to the Nichols deed of trust; therefore, Great Southern’s deed of trust was a “second.” Great Southern’s deed of trust was filed for record September 26,1990. We henceforth refer to this $200,000 loan as “the development loan.”

At the closing of the development loan, representatives of Great Southern and MJMD signed a separate document (Exhibit 7) stating:

“Great Southern ... will accept the sum of $5,000.00 to be applied to the principal balance of the indebtedness to [MJMD] as a per lot release fee for the St. Tropez development.”

As reported earlier, MJMD deeded Lot 8 to Plaintiffs October 4, 1990. It is inferable that Lot 8 was subject to the Nichols deed of trust, inasmuch as the “Settlement Statement” for the sale of Lot 8 by MJMD to Plaintiffs shows $18,480 was withheld from the money due MJMD and applied to “Payoff of first mortgage loan/Nichols.” We surmise Lot 8 was thereupon released from the Nichols deed of trust. The deed from MJMD to Plaintiffs warranted the title to Lot 8 and made no mention of Great Southern’s lien.

Although the specifics do not appear in the record, the parties agree that in addition to the development loan, MJMD obtained a “construction loan” from Great Southern to finance the building of a house on Lot 21 in St. Tropez, and another such loan to finance construction of a house on Lot 28 in St. Tropez. Each construction loan was secured by a deed of trust on the lot to which it pertained. We are told in Defendants’ brief that the construction loan on Lot 28 antedated the development loan, hence we infer Lot 28 was never subject to the lien securing the development loan. As appears infra, Lot 21 (the other lot on which Great Southern made a construction loan) was originally subject to the lien securing the development loan.

On March 21, 1991, MJMD paid Great Southern $7,624.88 interest on the development loan.

On April 19, 1991, MJMD paid Great Southern $5,000, and Great Southern released Lot 21 in St. Tropez from the lien securing the development loan. Lot 21, it will recalled, was one of the two lots on which MJMD obtained a construction loan from Great Southern. When Great Southern released Lot 21 from the lien securing the development loan, interest was due from MJMD on that loan.

On April 29, 1991, MJMD paid Great Southern $3,328.28 interest on the development loan. That same day, MJMD paid Great Southern $5,000 more, and Great Southern released Lot 13 in St. Tropez from the lien securing the development loan.

On June 20, 1991, MJMD paid Great Southern $5,000, and Great Southern released Lot 10 in St. Tropez from the lien securing the development loan. At that time, interest was “past due” on the development loan.

On June 29, 1991, MJMD paid Great Southern $1,658.54 interest on the development loan.

On September 19, 1991, the principal on the development loan became due. Interest [890]*890was already in arrears. MJMD paid nothing.

On dates unrevealed by the record, the construction loans on Lots 21 and 28 went into default. The deeds of trust securing those loans were foreclosed in November, 1991.At that time, a partially completed house sat on each lot. At the foreclosure sale, Great Southern bid $82,800 on Lot 21 and $109,044 on Lot 28. Each bid was the amount disbursed by Great Southern from the respective construction loan, plus accrued interest. The trustee accepted each bid and deeded Lots 21 and 28 to Great Southern.

By March, 1992, the note signed by the Moorheads April 14, 1989, payable to Darwin O. Nichols was in default. The successor trustee of the deed of trust securing that note commenced publication of notice that the property subject to that deed of trust would be sold at foreclosure May 7, 1992.

The sale took place as scheduled. Great Southern bought the land covered by the Nichols deed of trust for $335,000. Lot 8, of course, was not included in the sale. As recounted earlier, Lot 8 had been released from the Nichols deed of trust when Plaintiffs bought Lot 8 from MJMD. Consequently, after foreclosure of the Nichols deed of trust, Lot 8 remained subject to Great Southern’s deed of trust securing the development loan.

At the time the Nichols deed of trust was foreclosed, the holder of the note secured by that deed of trust was St. Tropez Investors Group, Inc. (“Investors Group”). The $335,-000 paid by Great Southern at foreclosure exceeded the amount due Investors Group on the note. Consequently, the successor trustee brought an interpleader action in the Circuit Court of Camden County to determine who was entitled to the surplus. The outcome of that action appears infra.

In a letter dated December 4, 1992, from them lawyer to Great Southern, Plaintiffs (who had been notified earlier by Great Southern that it intended to foreclose its deed of trust securing the development loan) “tendered” $5,000 to Great Southern and asked that Great Southern release Lot 8 from that deed of trust. Plaintiffs based their request on the document that had been signed at the time the development loan was closed (Exhibit 7, quoted supra), wherein MJMD and Great Southern agreed to $5,000 as a “per lot release fee.”

In a letter dated December 7, 1992, Great Southern refused Plaintiffs’ request, stating:

“Please be advised that Great Southern had and has no agreement with [Plaintiffs] to release any lots in return for the payment of $5,000.00. Of course, Great Southern will terminate the foreclosure if the remaining balance due on the note is paid.”

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889 S.W.2d 887, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1710, 1994 WL 597721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eisenhart-v-schreimann-moctapp-1994.