Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis v. Isringhausen

569 N.E.2d 235, 210 Ill. App. 3d 724, 155 Ill. Dec. 235, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 363
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 14, 1991
Docket4-90-0613
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 569 N.E.2d 235 (Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis v. Isringhausen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis v. Isringhausen, 569 N.E.2d 235, 210 Ill. App. 3d 724, 155 Ill. Dec. 235, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 363 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE STEIGMANN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Floyd Isringhausen, appeals an order granting summary judgment against him and in favor of plaintiff, the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis, as successor to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis. (See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 110, par. 2 — 1005.) On appeal, defendant claims that genuine issues of material fact exist, requiring that the summary judgment be reversed and remanded. We disagree and affirm.

I. Background

In September 1979, Roger and Linda Isringhausen applied to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis (which was subsequently succeeded by the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis) for a loan to purchase 247 acres of farmland in Jersey County, Illinois. The loan application named Floyd and Virginia Isringhausen, Roger’s parents, as “other applicants” for the loan. (Virginia Isringhausen died in 1981.) While Floyd agreed to provide 160 acres of his own farmland as additional collateral to secure the loan, the parties dispute whether Floyd provided this additional collateral on his own or whether this additional security was requested by the bank as a condition for approving the loan. The loan application was signed by all four Isringhausens. Both Roger and Floyd provided the bank with financial statements.

The loan application was processed by Steven Schweizer, then president of the Federal Land Bank of Carrollton-Carlinville, and assigned to the Jerseyville office. Schweizer prepared a credit report that listed Roger as the applicant and contained the statement, “Roger is buying 247 acre farm.” The credit report included financial data on both Roger and Floyd. A mortgage dated February 13, 1980, was signed by Roger, Linda, Floyd, and Virginia, creating a lien against the property to be purchased (parcel I) and the 160 acres owned by Floyd (parcel II). A note dated February 13, 1980, in the amount of $640,000, secured the mortgage and was also signed by all four Isringhausens.

The memorandum of settlement and photocopies of the checks indicated that the net loan proceeds were distributed to Roger and Kenneth Breitwiser (representing the seller) for the purchase of the 247 acres, with the remaining balance of $1,150 distributed to Roger. The memorandum of settlement also indicated that the bank issued 6,400 shares of stock in the association to “Floyd and Virginia,” and “Roger and Virginia [sic Linda]” as tenants in common.

On May 3, 1988, plaintiff filed a complaint for foreclosure of mortgage against the Isringhausens. Floyd’s answer, filed on June 29, 1988, admitted the essential allegations of the complaint to foreclose, but specifically denied that Floyd had executed the note as a comaker. On December 27, 1988, Floyd filed an amended first affirmative defense alleging that Schweizer represented to him that his sole liability on the loan would be the 160 acres of parcel II, but not any personal obligation beyond the value of that collateral.

On February 9, 1989, judgment of foreclosure was entered against Roger and Linda, and parcel I was ordered to be sold by public auction. An order confirming the sale and seeking a deficiency judgment against Roger and Linda in the amount of $297,378.42 was filed on May 25, 1989. (That order was amended on June 14, 1989, to include the payment of real estate transfer stamps.)

On February 9, 1990, plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment which included depositions of Floyd, Roger, and Linda, an affidavit of Schweizer, and copies of the note and mortgage signed by Floyd. The circuit court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against Floyd on July 23, 1990, and stated the following:

“While there may have been misunderstanding on the part of the Defendants as to the extent of Defendant, Floyd Isringhausen’s, liability on the Promissory Note, there is not a scintilla of evidence in the pleadings under consideration to support the allegation of fraud. While this appears to be a case where none of the parties, including the Plaintiff, may have imagined that this Defendant’s liability would ever extend, as a practical matter, beyond the 160 acres pledged as security, the record is devoid of any indication that the Defendants were deceived or defrauded by any representation of Plaintiff. The loan documents speak for themselves and are unambiguous. They clearly evidence an undertaking by Defendant, Floyd Isringhausen, to assume full responsibility on the entire note. The fact that that eventuality seemed improbable at the time does not absolve Defendant of liability thereon in whole or in part.”

On August 17, 1990, a deficiency judgment was entered against Floyd in the amount of $330,369.29.

II. Analysis

The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff and against defendant.

“Summary judgment is a procedure available only where there is no genuine, triable issue of material fact; if the pleadings, affidavits, depositions or admissions show that such an issue exists, or reasonable persons may disagree upon inferences fairly drawn from uncontroverted facts, the motion must be denied and the resolution of such facts and inferences is to be made by the fact finder at trial, not by the court considering the motion.” (In re Estate of Olenick (1990), 204 Ill. App. 3d 291, 297, 562 N.E.2d 293, 297.)

Even though a pleading may purport to raise an issue of material fact, if such issue is not further supported by evidentiary facts, summary judgment is appropriate. In determining the genuineness of a fact, the court should ignore personal conclusions, opinions, and self-serving statements and consider only facts admissible under the rules of evidence. Seefeldt v. Millikin National Bank (1987), 154 Ill. App. 3d 715, 718, 506 N.E.2d 1052, 1055.

In this case, defendant asserts fraud as his affirmative defense. Fraud encompasses any act, omission, or concealment calculated to deceive, including silence, if accompanied by deceptive conduct or suppression of material facts constituting an act of concealment. (Rybak v. Provenzale (1989), 181 Ill. App. 3d 884, 899, 537 N.E.2d 1321, 1331.) While both fraud in the inducement and fraud in the execution are valid defenses to an action on a note (Melvin State Bank v. Crowe (1968), 97 Ill. App. 2d 82, 96, 239 N.E.2d 483, 490; see also Colonial Bank & Trust Co. v. Kozlowski (1982), 106 Ill. App. 3d 639, 642, 435 N.E.2d 1251, 1253; Shanahan v. Schindler (1978), 63 Ill. App. 3d 82, 93-94, 379 N.E.2d 1307, 1316), at oral arguments, defendant’s counsel expressly limited his claim to fraud in the inducement.

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Bluebook (online)
569 N.E.2d 235, 210 Ill. App. 3d 724, 155 Ill. Dec. 235, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 363, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farm-credit-bank-of-st-louis-v-isringhausen-illappct-1991.