Federal Deposit Insurance v. Kamas

844 F. Supp. 1438, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2221, 1994 WL 62893
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedFebruary 14, 1994
DocketNo. 90-1267-MLB
StatusPublished

This text of 844 F. Supp. 1438 (Federal Deposit Insurance v. Kamas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Federal Deposit Insurance v. Kamas, 844 F. Supp. 1438, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2221, 1994 WL 62893 (D. Kan. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BELOT, District Judge.

This case comes before the court on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) motion for summary judgment against defendants Joan D. Kamas, Daniel M. Carney, Victor W. Schlesinger, and Loekeford Ethanol Corporation, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. (Doc. (57) FDIC, the receiver of Boulevard State Bank of Wichita (Boulevard), filed this action to recover on certain promissory notes and guaranties executed by the defendants.

Albert Kamas1 executed and delivered to Boulevard promissory notes in the amount of $860,000, $50,000, and $150,000, on May 16, 1986, September 26, 1986, and January 27, 1987, respectively. On September 26, 1986, Boulevard extended credit in the amount of $50,000 to Loekeford Corporation in consideration for the execution and delivery of a promissory note.

On April 18, 1984, Joan Kamas executed a guarantee in favor of Boulevard for “all obligations of [Albert Kamas] regardless of amount.” On January 8, 1986, Daniel Carney executed a guarantee in favor of Boulevard for the debts of Albert Kamas in an amount up to $150,000. On September 26, 1986, Victor Schlesinger executed a guarantee in favor of Boulevard for payment of the promissory note given by Loekeford Corporation in the amount of $50,000.

The promissory notes have matured and none have been paid. Boulevard has made demand upon Joan Kamas, Daniel Carney, and Victor Schlesinger, but they have not made the payments required under the terms of their guaranties.

Albert Kamas and Victor Schlesinger filed a counterclaim, alleging that they had an agreement with Boulevard regarding the sale of an ethanol facility in California. Kamas and Schlesinger allege that the promissory notes in question were to be repaid from the proceeds of the sale. The other defendants rely on the allegations of the counterclaim in defense of the FDIC’s claims against them.

STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party can demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

DISCUSSION

FDIC seeks summary judgment on the promissory note executed by Loekeford.2 [1440]*1440The promissory note is an instrument under K.S.A. 84-3-104 and FDIC is a holder under K.S.A. 84-1-201(20). The note has matured and the principal and interest is unpaid. FDIC has produced the note and Loekeford has admitted the signatures are genuine. FDIC is therefore entitled to summary judgment on the note.

FDIC also seeks summary judgment on the guaranties executed by Joan Kamas, Daniel Carney, and Victor Schlesinger. “A guaranty is a contract between two or more persons, founded upon consideration, by which one person promises to answer to another for the debt, default or miscarriage of a third person, and, in a legal sense, has relation to some other contract or obligation with reference to which it is a collateral undertaking.” Iola, State Bank v. Biggs, 233 Kan. 450, Syl. ¶ 1, 662 P.2d 563 (1983).

The interpretation of a guaranty was restated in Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Neitzel, supra:

A contract of guaranty is to be construed, as are other contracts, according to the intention of the parties as determined by a reasonable interpretation of the language used in the light of the attendant circumstances. After the intention of the parties or the scope of the guarantor’s undertaking has been determined by application of general rules of construction, the obligation is strictly construed and may not be extended by construction or implication.

769 F.Supp. at 348 (quoting Overland Park Savings & Loan Ass’n v. Miller, 243 Kan. 730, 738, 763 P.2d 1092 (1988)).

The facts are uncontroverted that each defendant signed a guaranty, that consideration was given in the form of Boulevard loaning money in exchange for the promissory note, and the guaranties have not been paid despite proper notice and demand for payment. Defendants purport to raise a genuine issue of material fact pointing to the existence of an agreement between Boulevard and Albert Kamas, whereby the promissory notes were to be paid from the proceeds of the sale of an ethanol facility in California. FDIC responds that this defense is barred by the provisions of 12 U.S.C. § 1823(e), which provides in relevant part:

No agreement, which tends to diminish or defeat the right, title or interest of the [FDIC] in any asset acquired by it under this section, either as security for a loan or by purchase, shall be valid against the [FDIC] unless such agreement (1) shall be in writing, (2) shall have been executed by the bank and the person or persons claiming an adverse interest thereunder, including the obligor, contemporaneously with the acquisition of the asset by the bank, (3) shall have been approved by the board of directors of the bank or its loan committee, which approval shall be reflected in the minutes of said board or committee, and (4) shall have been continuously, from the time of its execution, an official record of the bank.

In defendants’ response to the motion for summary judgment (Doc. 46), defendants submitted the affidavits of Albert Kamas and Robert Cornwell.3 Kamas stated in the affidavit that Bonaventure Kreutzer, former executive vice president of Boulevard, told him that written documents exist that confirm an agreement, approved by the Boulevard board of directors, between Boulevard, Kamas, and Schlesinger, regarding the reimbursement of expenses incurred and commissions owed to Kamas and Schlesinger in connection with the sale of an ethanol facility in California. Kamas also states in the affidavit that the guaranty of Joan Kamas was materially altered after it was executed.

Kamas’ affidavit is based solely on hearsay and cannot be considered on a motion for summary judgment. Ritchie Enterprises v. Honeywell Bull, Inc., 730 F.Supp. 1041, 1043 (D.Kan.1990). Defendants thereafter sought to conduct discovery to satisfy the requirements of § 1823(e). On August 6, 1993, the undersigned granted the defendants’ request to conduct limited discovery by deposing [1441]*1441Kreutzer. Kreutzer’s deposition was taken on August 19, 1993. The court has reviewed the deposition and finds no mention of any written agreement pertaining to the sale of the ethanol facility, let alone any board of directors approval of the agreement.

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Related

Langley v. Federal Deposit Insurance
484 U.S. 86 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Commercial Credit Corporation v. Harris
510 P.2d 1322 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1973)
Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Neitzel
769 F. Supp. 346 (D. Kansas, 1991)
Ritchie Enterprises v. Honeywell Bull, Inc.
730 F. Supp. 1041 (D. Kansas, 1990)
Iola State Bank v. Biggs
662 P.2d 563 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1983)
Overland Park Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Miller
763 P.2d 1092 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1988)
Franks v. Nimmo
796 F.2d 1230 (Tenth Circuit, 1986)
Monarch Cement Co. v. Lone Star Industries, Inc.
982 F.2d 1448 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
844 F. Supp. 1438, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2221, 1994 WL 62893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-deposit-insurance-v-kamas-ksd-1994.