Heath Tecna Corp. v. Zions First National Bank

609 P.2d 1334, 1980 Utah LEXIS 903
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 1980
Docket16474
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 609 P.2d 1334 (Heath Tecna Corp. v. Zions First National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Heath Tecna Corp. v. Zions First National Bank, 609 P.2d 1334, 1980 Utah LEXIS 903 (Utah 1980).

Opinion

WILKINS, Justice:

Plaintiff Heath Tecna Corporation (hereafter “Plaintiff”) appeals from a summary judgment granted to Defendant. Zions First National Bank (hereafter “Zions”). We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

On July 7, 1975, Zions made a loan for $20,000 to Elwood G. Norris (hereafter “Norris”) and Jon A. Hooper (hereafter “Hooper”), d/b/a Sound Systems Company. Norris and Hooper signed the note for Sound Systems and Norris and his wife signed “individually and personally”. On the same day the Norrises executed a trust deed to Zions covering real property located in Salt Lake County owned by them.

Also on July 7, 1975, Zions took a Security Agreement covering equipment owned by Sound Systems as well as ari Inventory and Accounts Receivable Security Agreement to cover the $20,000. The Security Agreement covering the equipment was signed by Norris for Sound Systems, while the Inventory and Accounts Receivable Security Agreement was executed by Norris and Hooper on behalf of Sound Systems.

' On July 25, 1975, Norris and Hooper executed a Partnership Borrowing Authorization for and Guarantee of Commercial Loan to Zions. On the same date two Motor Vehicle Security Agreements covering a Pantera automobile were also executed. One recited that it covered a $9,000 note to Sound Systems and the other a $20,000 note to Sound Systems (apparently the note of July 7, ante). Only the Security Agreement covering the $9,000 note was perfected by the issuance of a new certificate of title. The Motor Vehicle Security Agreement covering the $9,000 note showed the debtor as Norris and Hooper d/b/a Sound Systems Company. The other such Agreement showed the debtor as Sound Systems Company and was signed by Norris.

Both of these Motor Vehicle Security Agreements had identical future advances or “dragnet” clauses. Each agreement stated that it was granted “to secure all Debtor’s present and future debts, obligations and liabilities of whatever nature to Secured Party (the “Obligations”), including the note executed by Debtor to Secured Party in the amount of $_and Debt- or’s obligations hereunder.” One of the security agreements then had the sum of $9,000 typed in and the other, the sum of $20,000. A new certificate of title was subsequently issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles showing Zions as a lien holder.

On April 26, 1976, Norris and his wife signed a Continuing Guarantee of Credit in favor of Zions and on behalf of an entity *1336 named Norris and Company, Inc. On July 12, 1976, Norris as president of Norris and Company, Inc., executed an assignment of a statement savings account. On July 13, 1976, Zions took an Inventory and Accounts Receivable Security Agreement from Norris and Company, Inc. On November 18, 1976, Norris as president of Norris and Company, Inc., executed a promissory note in the sum of $60,000. On March 11,1977, Zions took a General Pledge Agreement signed by Norris for Norris and Company, Inc. together with an Agreement of Accommodation Pledgor signed by Norris individually.

On May 31,1977, Plaintiff obtained judgment against Norris in the sum of $77,-911.00. Pursuant to said judgment a Writ of Execution was issued. Plaintiff alleges, and Zions admits for the purposes of this appeal only, that the Salt Lake County Sheriff levied on the Pantera automobile on August 18, 1977. Plaintiff indicates in its brief that Norris was designated the keeper of the automobile levied on, but it is clear that a sheriff’s sale never took place.

On October 11, 1977, Norris voluntarily turned possession of the Pantera over to Zions. On November 23, 1977, Norris sold the Pantera to a third party. Norris signed the certificate of title as the owner and the lien was released by Zions. The sale of the automobile netted some $10,500 which was turned over to Zions by Norris.

The record reflects that at the time the Pantera was sold, the $9,000 note to Sound Systems had been paid in full and a balance of something over $2,000 remained owing on the $20,000 note to Sound Systems.

After the Pantera was sold Plaintiff instituted this action against Zions alleging, inter alia, that Zions had wrongfully repossessed and sold the Pantera, that Zions had no right to repossess the Pantera in the face of Plaintiff’s levy, and that alternatively, if Zions had any right to repossess the Pant-era, Zions only had a right to some $2,000 of the sale price, with the remainder properly due Plaintiff.

On March 23, 1979, Zions filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, grounding said Motion on three .theories. The first was that Plaintiff “is not a proper party plaintiff and has no standing to bring this action against defendant.” Second, Zions “did not sell the 1972 Pantera automobile which is the subject matter of this action and therefore defendant cannot, as a matter of law, be the proximate cause of any damages suffered by plaintiff.” And, finally, Zions “had a perfected security interest in said 1972 Pantera which secured debts owing to defendant by Elwood G. Norris on which there was a balance owing at the time of the disposition of said 1972 Pantera in excess of the proceeds realized from such sale. Said security interest had priority over the interest of plaintiff alleged in its complaint and therefore the repossession of said 1972 Pantera by defendant and any subsequent disposition thereof were proper and lawful and plaintiff has no cause of action against defendant.” On April 4, 1979, the District Court granted Zions’ Motion, and on April 26, 1979, signed a Judgment dismissing Plaintiff’s Complaint. No grounds for granting the motion are listed either in the Minute Entry or in the Judgment itself.

In Livingston Industries, Inc. v. Walker Bank & Trust Company, 1 we stated:

Summary judgment is proper only if the pleadings, depositions, affidavits and admissions show that there is' no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the loser, must show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. 2

We find no merit in Zions’ contentions that Plaintiff had no legally cognizable interest in the Pantera automobile and hence no standing to bring this suit, or that Zions did not sell the automobile and hence could not have been the proximate cause of any damage to Plaintiff. The overriding issue is whether Zions had any perfected security interest in the automobile with precedence *1337 over the interest of Plaintiff in that automobile as a levying creditor.

Zions basically maintains that the future advances clause in the Motor Vehicle Security Agreement extended not only to the loans to Sound Systems Company but also to the $60,000 loan to Norris and Company, Inc. 3

In analyzing the effect of the future advances clause in the Motor Vehicle Security Agreement, we rely on the same principles enunciated by this Court in First Security Bank of Utah v. Shiew, No. 16261,

Related

James v. Blackhawk Credit Union (In Re James)
221 B.R. 760 (W.D. Wisconsin, 1998)
Mead Corp. v. Dixon Paper Co.
907 P.2d 1179 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1995)
North Park Bank of Commerce v. Nichols
645 P.2d 620 (Utah Supreme Court, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
609 P.2d 1334, 1980 Utah LEXIS 903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heath-tecna-corp-v-zions-first-national-bank-utah-1980.