First National Bank of Omaha v. Centennial Park, LLC

303 P.3d 705, 48 Kan. App. 2d 714
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 22, 2013
DocketNo. 108,315
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 303 P.3d 705 (First National Bank of Omaha v. Centennial Park, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First National Bank of Omaha v. Centennial Park, LLC, 303 P.3d 705, 48 Kan. App. 2d 714 (kanctapp 2013).

Opinion

Green, J.:

On appeal, the defendants, Centennial Park, LLC, Bradley D. Vince, and Richard H. Sailors, challenge the trial court’s summary judgment granted in favor of First National Bank of Omaha as successor by merger to First National Bank of Kansas (FNB). Specifically, the defendants raise four arguments on appeal: (1) that equitable principles should have prevented FNB from accelerating the defendants’ loan debt obligation even though FNB was entitled to accelerate the loan under the terms of the promissory note; (2) that thé trial court erred when it found that the defendants had not substantially performed under the terms of the loan documents and therefore had committed a material breach of the contract; (3) that FNB waived its right to accelerate the loan debt when it accepted the defendants’ late payment of $9,349 by depositing the check in its account; and (4) that FNB breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it sent the [717]*717defendants a billing statement requiring a principal payment of $1,350,000. We disagree.

First, the equitable principle that the defendants rely on—mistake-—does not apply here because there was no mistake made. Second, tire trial court correctly held that the defendants had not substantially performed under the terms of the note and the loan documents, and, therefore, had materially breached the contract. Third, FNB did not waive its right to accelerate the loan debt when it accepted the defendants’ late payment because the parties’ note contained multiple anti-waiver provisions. Finally FNB did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it sent the defendants a billing statement requiring a principal payment of $1,350,000. Even though the trial court determined that the defendants did not owe a principal payment of $1,350,000 on April 10, 2010, the trial court found that Centennial Park owed an unpaid balance of $176,880.57 on that date. Accordingly, we affirm.

Generally, the underlying facts of this case are undisputed. On May 7, 2008, FNB entered into a loan agreement with the defendants. The defendants wanted this loan to start a commercial real estate development project located on the borders of Johnson County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri. Under the terms of the promissory note (note), FNB agreed to loan the defendants $9,716,600. The note contained the following payment terms:

“(1) Monthly installments of accrued and unpaid interest shall be due and payable on the tenth day of each month commencing with the payment due on May 10, 2008; (2) A principal payment in a minimum amount of $1,350,000.00 on or before April 10, 2010; and (3) A final payment of all unpaid principal and all accrued and unpaid interest shall be due and payable April 10, 2011.”

The note was secured by a document entitled “Amended And Restated First Mortgage, Assignment of Leases and Rents, Security Agreement and Fixture Filing” that was signed by the' defendants’ manager on May 7, 2008. The parties also executed other loan documents that day, including: a construction loan agreement and personal guarantees executed by Centennial Park’s managing members, Bradley D. Vince and Richard Sailors. Centennial Park and the guarantors did not negotiate any changes to the documents [718]*718previously listed before they were signed by the parties. Under the terms of the construction loan agreement, FNB agreed to release part of its collateral each time lots in the development were sold in exchange for 75 percent of the net proceeds of sale. For more than a year, the parties’ relationship continued as planned.

By the end of the second anniversary of the loan, May 7, 2010, the defendants had paid FNB $1,173,119.43 in principal payments. On March 31, 2010, FNB sent Centennial Parle an automated invoice statement that indicated a payment of $1,350,000 was required for “Current Principal.” After Centennial Park received the statement, defendant Vince, a Centennial Park managing member, contacted FNB’s vice president, Christopher Willis, to ask about the statement. Willis told defendant Vince that he was unaware of the statement and that he was surprised such an amount would be due. The next morning, Willis sent an email to defendant Vince’s attorney. In the email, Willis changed his position from tire previous day. Specifically, Willis stated that his previous recollection on whether a $1,350,000 principal payment was required was “faulty” and he “did not remember this principal reduction payment, but it was clearly required by the terms of the Note.”

The defendants failed to make any additional payments on the loan on or before April 10, 2010. Because the terms of the defendants’ note required a minimum principal payment of $1,350,000 on or before April 10, 2010, and it had paid only $1,173,119.43, the defendants were in default according to the terms of the note. Although the terms of the note gave FNB the authority to accelerate the loan immediately after default and without notice, FNB did not accelerate tire loan debt on April 10, 2010.

On April 23, 2010, FNB received the proceeds of a lot sale in Centennial Park’s development project in the amount of $167,531.49. The proceeds brought the defendants’ total principal paid balance to $1,340,650.80, which was $9,349 short of the amount that was due on April 10, 2010. On May 17, 2010, FNB sent the defendants a default letter stating that their account was delinquent for its failure to pay $1,350,000 on April 10, 2010. Even so, FNB still did not accelerate the loan then. Instead, FNB told the defendants that they would be allowed to cure the default by [719]*719delivering a plan, acceptable to FNB, at its sole discretion, to cure tire default on or before May 31, 2010. The letter also told the defendants that FNB would accelerate the loan debt on May 31, 2010, without further notice if the defendants failed to deliver an acceptable plan. Although the defendants offered a plan to cure the default, FNB apparently did not feel that the plan was acceptable, and on June 1, 2010, FNB told the defendants that it was accelerating the loan debt.

On September 17, 2010, defendant Vince’s attorney sent FNB’s attorney a letter concerning the payment dispute along with a check for $9,349.20. The check represented the difference between $1,350,000 and $1,340,650.80 before FNB accelerated the loan on June 1, 2010. FNB accepted the check and deposited it in its account.

On August 6,2010, FNB sued Centennial Park and it guarantors, Vince and Sailors. Eventually, defendants Centennial Park, Vince, and Sailors, collectively moved for summary judgment. FNB then filed a competing motion for summary judgment. After the trial court conducted multiple hearings, it granted FNB’s summary judgment motion and denied Centennial Park’s summary judgment motion. The trial court’s final judgment order granted FNB the following: (1) damages of $7,239,654.14 (principal), $550,587.57 (accrued interest), $1,659,087 (per diem interest), and $123,071.62 (attorney fees and costs) against Centennial Park; (2) judicial foreclosure of the Kansas portion of the Centennial Park property; and (3) damages of $7,239,654.14 (principal), $550,587.57 (accrued interest), $1,659,087 (per diem interest), and $123,071.62 (attorney fees and costs) against defendants Vince and Sailors, jointly and severally.

After an additional hearing, the trial court denied defendants Centennial Park, Vince, and Sailors’ motion to reconsider.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
303 P.3d 705, 48 Kan. App. 2d 714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-of-omaha-v-centennial-park-llc-kanctapp-2013.