Hatt v. C & A Fin. Programs, Inc.

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedDecember 9, 2010
DocketPENcv-09-056
StatusUnpublished

This text of Hatt v. C & A Fin. Programs, Inc. (Hatt v. C & A Fin. Programs, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hatt v. C & A Fin. Programs, Inc., (Me. Super. Ct. 2010).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT PENOBSCOT, ss. CIVIL ACTION [Il DOCKET NO. CV~056 V\I ~ Pi - Pf N- Il~' /q IJ C 1') ) !

AIMEE 1. HATT AND SCOTT E. DIONNE,

Plaintiffs,

v. DECISION ON M.R. elv. P. 56 MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT C&A FINANCIAL PROGRAMS, INC., AND RICHARD D. DORR

Defendants.

This matter comes before the court on Defendant C&A Financial Programs, Inc. 's

("C&A") motion for summary judgment filed pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 56. Having

reviewed the parties' submissions and the pertinent statutory provisions involved in this

litigation, the Court grants the motion.

BACKGROUND

From the Court's review of the pleadings and the parties' respective statements of

material facts, the following facts are undisputed unless stated otherwise. On November

1, 2006, the plaintiffs agreed to purchase a 1997 Liberty Mobile Home from Defendant

Richard Dorr for a price of $37,500. (CompI. ~ 5.) In order to acquire the mobile home,

the Plaintiffs gave Dorr a mortgage note secured by a first-mortgage in the amount of

$70,000.00 upon a certain parcel of real property owned by Plaintiff Aimee Hatt-the

property where the mobile home was to be delivered by Defendant Dorr, 2945 Kennebec

Road in Newburgh, Maine. The plaintiffs paid a $5000.00 down payment for the mobile

1 home and Dorr, as part of the mortgage, agreed to: (1) pay off the obligation secured by

an existing first mortgage on the Newburgh property where the mobile home was to be

placed; (2) pay contractors for installation of a trailer pad, septic system, well and water

line on the property; (3) pay for moving and setting up the mobile home at the Newburgh

property; and (4) pay closing costs incurred in the transaction. (Comp. ~ 6; Hatt Aff. ~ 4;

see also C&A Supp. S.M.F.~ 12, Ex. B).

The parties do not dispute that C&A Financial is a business generally engaged in

the purchasing of financial obligations, or interests in financial obligations, including

residential and commercial mortgage loans, land contracts, contracts for deed, annuities,

settlements, lottery contracts, and other sources of payments commonly referred to as

"notes." (C&A Supp. S.M.F. ~ 6; Christenson Aff. ~ 3.) C&A deals with a wide variety of

sellers of financial obligations located throughout the United States and ordinarily

purchases these financial obligations at a discount from their face value. (C&A Supp.

S.M.F. ~ 7.) After C&A purchases an interest in a particular note, C&A will usually be

the party that collects payments coming due under the terms of the obligation, enforces

the terms of the obligation, and realizes the collateral, if any, upon default. (ld ~ 8.)

At some point, either before or shortly after November 1, 2006, Defendant Dorr

engaged Defendant C&A Financial to make him an offer to purchase all, or part of an

interest in, the Dorr/Hatt transaction. (C&S Supp. S.M.F. ~ 9.) Whether Defendant Dorr

contacted Defendant C&A Financial prior to the November 1, 2006, "closing" date of

the Dorr/Hatt transaction is the principle fact disputed by the parties in this action.

Defendant C&A Financial claims that Dorr contacted the firm in "the last half of

November and the first half of December 2006." (Christenson Aff. ~ 4; C&A Supp.

2 S.M.F. ~~ 9-10.) The Exclusive Option to Purchase Agreement, as between Dorr and

C&A Financial, which purports to initiate a relationship between C&A and Dorr, appears

to have been executed by Dorr and C&A Secretary, Linda Christenson, on November 1,

2006. (C&A Supp. S.M.F. Ex. C.) C&A maintains that the date "was inserted by Mr.

Dorr when he received the Option form in blank when C&A sent it to him on December

11,2006, and was signed by C&A on a later date." (Def. C&A's Reply Mem. in Support

ofM. for Summ. 1. at 6.) The Plaintiffs use the November 1,2006 date as evidence that

Dorr contacted C&A before execution of the mortgage note and presumably had a plan in

place to transfer some interest in the mortgage on or before "closing" - or, November 1,

2006 (See PI.' s Opp. S.M.F. 'if~ 9-10, 17 and 19.) The parties agree that the purchase of

the mobile home and financing for other services referenced in the mortgage deed was on

credit, but disagree about whether the "credit" was advanced by Dorr or C&A. (Compare

C&A Supp. S.M.F. ~ 18 with PI.'s Opp. S.M.F. 'if 18.)

What followed in the wake of Defendant Dorr's engagement of C&A is not in

dispute. On December 11, 2006, Defendant C&A mailed a transaction purchase package

to Defendant Dorr. The contents of that packet included C&A's first offer to purchase

part of the HattJDorr transaction for $56,000, less the underlying lien. (PI.'s Opp. S.M.F 'if

20; C&A Rep. S.M.F. 'if 20.) On December 26,2006, Defendant C&A received the signed

and completed documents in the package. While C&A was processing the proposed

assignment, C&A telephoned Plaintiff Aimee Hatt on January 5,2007 to check on the

status of her transaction with Defendant Dorr. (C&A Supp. S.M.F ~ 23; Pl.'s Opp S.M.F.

~ 23.) On that date, Ms. Hatt advised C&A that none of the funds that were the subject of

the November 2006 mortgage transaction had been disbursed to upgrade the mobile

3 home, or the property, 1 consistent with the agreement between Defendant Dorr and the

Plaintiffs. (C&A Supp. S.M.F,-r 24; Pl.'s Opp. S.M.F.,-r 24.) Due to this development-

chiefly, Defendant Dorr's apparent failure to forward the monies needed to prepare the

Plaintiffs' property and upfit the mobile home-C&A later agreed, after a conversation

with Defendant Dorr, that it would withhold a portion of the payment for an interest in

the Mortgage Note sufficient to pay the outstanding debts for work completed and that

C&A would ultimately pay for the work directly. (C&A Supp. S.M.F,-r 26; Pl.'s Opp.

S.M.F. ,-r 26.)

On February 6, 2007, Defendant Dorr accepted C&A's offer to purchase 180

payments on the Mortgage Note for a discount price of $35,000 and the parties executed

loan documents memorializing this agreement on the February 7, 2007.2 (C&A Supp.

S.M.F,-r 28; Pl.'s Opp. S.M.F. ,-r 28.) On February 9,2007, C&A delivered a check to

Defendant Dorr in the amount of$13,221.01, which reflected 180 payments on the

mortgage note less the $11,000.00 paid to D&D construction for work done to prepare

the Plaintiffs' Newburgh property for delivery of the mobile home, $3,628.57 paid to

Alfred C. Haskell Water Wells, Inc. for well work, $6,750.00 paid to McPherson

Timberlands for the amount owed on the obligation secured by a prior mortgage on the

property, $382.42 for taxes, and $18.00 for recording fees. (C&A Supp. S.M.F. ,-r 33;

Pl.'s Opp S.M.F.,-r 33.) At this point the parties do not dispute that Defendant Dorr

dispersed no monies associated with the November 2006 transaction, and that C&A

1 Among the outstanding debts owed by Dorr as a result of the November 1,2006 mortgage transaction was a $7000.00 amount intended to help the Plaintiffs to payoff the remainder of a prior mortgage on the property, a bill in amount of $3,628.57 for construction of a water well on the property, a bill in the amount of $11 ,000.00 for the preparation of the property, delivery and placement of mobile home, and the amount needed to make the first payment on the Mortgage Note. (C&A Supp. S.M.F. ~ 24; PI.'s Opp. S.M.F. ~ 24; see C&A Supp.

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