Fortmeyer v. Summit Bank

565 N.E.2d 1118, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 86, 1991 WL 9787
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 29, 1991
Docket02A03-8912-CV-00535
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 565 N.E.2d 1118 (Fortmeyer v. Summit Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fortmeyer v. Summit Bank, 565 N.E.2d 1118, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 86, 1991 WL 9787 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

STATON, Judge.

Howard and Elizabeth Fortmeyer (Fort-meyer s) appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Summit Bank in its action to recover on the Fort-meyers’ written guaranties. The Fortmey-ers present three issues for our review, rephrased as:

1. Whether the Bank’s alleged failure to exercise good faith and fair dealing in its lending practices precludes summary judgment.
2. Whether the Restatement of Security, § 124, imposes a duty upon a lender to inform a guarantor when the risk is materially increased beyond that which the guarantor has reason to assume.
3. Whether the guaranty was materially altered so as to operate to discharge the Fortmeyers’ obligations under the guaranty.

*1120 Affirmed.

The facts are largely undisputed. On April 4, 1981, the Fortmeyers signed an unlimited, unconditional and continuing guaranty for amounts which the Bank would loan to Midwest Agricultural Services, Inc. (Midwest), an Indiana corporation operated by the Fortmeyers’ son, Roger. The Fortmeyers had previously executed a guaranty for a $70,000.00 loan to Midwest. Roger, the president of Midwest, was the only officer from Midwest who dealt with the Bank when securing loans. The Fort-meyers were stockholders in Midwest, and at one point owned a 32% interest in the company.

The Bank did not make any loans in connection with the April 4, 1981 guaranty until September 23, 1982, when it loaned Midwest $500,000.00. On November 23, 1984, another promissory note to Midwest was executed, this time for the amount of $450,000.00. A final loan of $60,000.00 was made on June 2, 1986.

During this period, the Bank never communicated directly with the Fortmeyers to advise them of their increasing risk of liability under the guaranty. Likewise, the Fortmeyers never inquired of the Bank or Roger as to their potential liability. Additionally, the Fortmeyers did not execute a written revocation of their liability under the April 4, 1981, guaranty.

Midwest failed to make its payments and the notes went into default. The Bank then made demand upon defendants for payment under the guaranty. The trial court determined the Fortmeyers’ liability to be $1,320,784.14, including post-judgment and pre-judgment interest, and the Bank’s attorney’s fees.

Standard of Review

The Fortmeyers appeal from an adverse ruling on the Bank’s motion for summary judgment. As such, this court will apply the same standard as the trial court; summary judgment is proper only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Mauller v. City of Columbus (1990), Ind.App., 552 N.E.2d 500, trans. denied. A factual issue is “genuine” if it cannot be resolved by reference to undisputed facts; therefore, a grant of summary judgment is improper if the court must weigh conflicting evidence to reach the decision. Madison County Bank & Trust Co. v. Kreegar (1987), Ind., 514 N.E.2d 279, reh. denied. Summary judgment is appropriate, however, when there is no dispute or conflict regarding the facts which are dispositive of the litigation. Id.

A fact is “material” for summary judgment purposes if it bears on the ultimate resolution of relevant issues. Murphy v. Mellon Accountants P.C. (1989), Ind.App., 538 N.E.2d 968, reh. denied, trans. denied. In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, we consider all matters in a light most favorable to the non-movant. Mauller, supra, at 502.

I.

Obligations of Good Faith & Fair Dealing

The Fortmeyers first contend that summary judgment was inappropriate because material facts gave rise to the inference that the Bank breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing to Midwest. Specifically, the Fortmeyers allege that the Bank, fully aware of Midwest’s poor financial condition, loaned money to Midwest to curry favor with the Fortmeyers, whose other businesses used the banking services of a competitor.

This argument was raised for the first time on appeal. Generally, a party may not raise an issue on appeal that was not raised in the trial court. Koop v. Bailey (1986), Ind.App., 502 N.E.2d 116, 118 n. 3. This rule also applies to summary judgment proceedings. Id.; Johnson v. Rutoskey (1984), Ind.App., 472 N.E.2d 620, 623.

The Fortmeyers, however, urge this court to find that the issue of good faith and fair dealing was before the trial court by way of the following paragraph from their amended answer:

*1121 4. While Plaintiff [the Bank] was materially increasing the risk to Defendants, Plaintiff knew (or should have known) that Defendants were unaware of the extensions of credit being made. Plaintiff knew (or should have known) that the extensions of credit made were far in excess of Defendants’ ability to pay for same. Since Plaintiff had a duty to notify Defendants, it constitutes a discharge of Defendants’ obligation.

The crucial factor in determining whether the Fortmeyers may inject what appears to be a new issue into the appeal is whether their adversary had unequivocal notice of the existence of the issue and, therefore, had an opportunity to defend against it. Apple v. Kile (1983), Ind.App., 457 N.E.2d 254, 257, reh. denied, trans. denied. If an issue is actually litigated with the implied consent of the parties, any issue justified by the evidence may be injected into the proceedings. Id. at 256; Ind. Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 15(B).

The Fortmeyers argue that the above defense clearly put the Bank on notice that its lending practices were at issue. While it is true that the Bank’s lending practices were questioned at trial, this was a result of the Fortmeyers’ claims based on the Restatement of Security and material alteration of the contract, discussed below.

As was the case in Apple, supra, the record does not prompt a reasonable conclusion that the Bank had unequivocal notice that the “new” issue was being tried. It is also worth noting that the trial judge in this case issued detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law in the judgment. Nowhere in the judgment is there any indication that this issue was tried by the parties. Therefore, the Fortmeyers have waived this issue on appeal.

II.

Restatement of Security § 124

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Bluebook (online)
565 N.E.2d 1118, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 86, 1991 WL 9787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fortmeyer-v-summit-bank-indctapp-1991.