Henning Const. v. First Eastern Bank

635 So. 2d 273, 1994 WL 79961
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 12, 1994
Docket92-CA-0435
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 635 So. 2d 273 (Henning Const. v. First Eastern Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henning Const. v. First Eastern Bank, 635 So. 2d 273, 1994 WL 79961 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

635 So.2d 273 (1994)

HENNING CONSTRUCTION, INC., Timothy R. Henning and Jackson W. Henning
v.
FIRST EASTERN BANK AND TRUST COMPANY and Roy Bass.

No. 92-CA-0435.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 15, 1994.
Rehearing Denied May 12, 1994.
Written Reasons to Grant Rehearing May 12, 1994.

Hoskins & Hoskins, Harry D. Hoskins, Hulse, Nelson & Wanek, Michael Wanek, New Orleans, for plaintiffs-appellants Henning Const., Inc. et al.

Hammett & Baus, Donald A. Hammett, John V. Baus, Jr., Jennifer C. deBlanc, New Orleans, for defendant-appellee New England Ins. Co.

Smith, Martin & Schneider, Bruce C. Butcher, Graymond F. Martin, New Orleans, for defendant-appellee R. Ray Orrill, Jr.

Brooks, McNally, Whittington, Platto & Vitt, Geoffrey Judd Vitt, Norwich, VT and Matt J. Farley, Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, New Orleans, for defendants-appellees Nicholas N. Caridas, Frank A. Hijuelos, John A. Jones, Jr., and Jeffrey C. Nolan.

*274 McGlinchey, Stafford, Cellini & Lang, Henri Wolbrette, III, Martha M. Young, Dermot S. McGlinchey, James M. Garner, New Orleans, for appellees Boston Old Colony Ins. Co. and Commercial Ins. Co. of Newark, NJ.

Before KLEES, ARMSTRONG and PLOTKIN, JJ.

Judge Plotkin's Written Reasons to Grant Rehearing May 12, 1994.

KLEES, Judge.

Plaintiff, Henning Construction, Inc. [hereinafter "Henning"], appeals the granting of three summary judgments by which the trial court dismissed with prejudice Henning's actions against all defendants. We affirm.

On April 15, 1986, Henning executed a promissory note in favor of defendant First Eastern Bank and Trust Company ["First Eastern"] for $328,000. On May 12, 1986, Henning executed a second note in favor of First Eastern for $140,000. Typewritten on the first note is the stipulation "on demand if no demand then due in 121 days"; similarly, the second note has typewritten on its face "on demand if no demand then due in 63 days". Each note also states:

All parties hereto further severally agree that this note evidences and sets forth their entire agreement with the holder hereof and that no modification hereof shall be binding unless in writing and signed by the Bank and the parties hereto.

Finally, the notes each provide:

[W]here this note is not paid at its maturity, or when otherwise due as herein provided, all money on deposit with, held by, in possession of or under the control of Bank, for any purpose whatsoever, to the credit or for the account of the parties hereto or any one or more of them shall be and stand applied forthwith to the payment of this note or any other indebtedness due the Bank by the parties hereto or any of them.

In July of 1986, First Eastern called in the notes by sending written notice that payment was due July 14, 1986. "Past Due Notices" were sent to Henning on July 21st, July 25th and July 30th. Henning failed to make the payment, and on August 15, 1986, First Eastern put a freeze on Henning's checking account, which had a balance of approximately $47,000. A week later, the account balance was offset against Henning's debt.

Henning filed suit against First Eastern claiming that the bank had breached the "covenant of good faith and fair dealing" that existed between Henning and First Eastern by offsetting the funds, thereby contributing to the eventual bankruptcy of Henning and the decline in the value of plaintiffs' stock. Plaintiffs also alleged that First Eastern engaged in economic duress in violation of La. Civ.Code art. 2315. Finally, in the original petition and seven amendments, plaintiffs named as defendants all officers and directors of First Eastern as well as its general counsel, Ray Orrill, and their insurers.

Defendants filed three separate motions for summary judgment. The first motion, filed by all defendants, asserted that the notes executed by Henning were demand notes which imposed no duty of good faith upon First Eastern. The second motion was filed by Ray Orrill, asserting that he owed no duty to plaintiffs as a director of First Eastern. The third motion was brought by Ray Orrill's professional liability carrier, New England Insurance Company, on the issue of legal malpractice, asserting that Orrill owed no duty to First Eastern's customers for his allegedly negligent performance as general counsel to First Eastern. The district court granted the motions for summary judgment and dismissed all defendants with prejudice. In written reasons for judgment, the court found that (1) the notes were demand notes; (2) there is no duty of good faith or fair dealing associated with a demand note; (3) the notes constituted the entire agreement between the parties, as they were never modified in writing, and (4) First Eastern properly exercised its contractual rights under the notes through setoff. After reviewing the record and the law, we agree with the trial court.

Despite the assertion of thirty-nine separate assignments of error by counsel for appellant Henning, we find that the pertinent issues on appeal are those four identified by the trial judge in his reasons for judgment, plus the issue of whether Mr. Orrill owed any duty to plaintiffs in his dual capacity as director *275 and counsel to First Eastern. We will therefore address those five issues.

The trial court correctly held that the notes in question are demand notes because the typewritten terms printed on the notes state they are payable "on demand". A demand note is one which is either payable on demand or which does not state a time for payment. See former La.R.S. § 10:3-108(a) (West 1993), new La.R.S. § 10:3-108(a) (effective Jan. 1, 1994). Henning argues that other printed language on the notes is inconsistent with the term "on demand". However, under Louisiana statutory law, the typed provisions on the notes prevail over the printed provisions. See former La.R.S. § 10:3-118(b) (West 1993); see also La.R.S. § 10:3-114 (eff. Jan. 1, 1994). Moreover, it has been held that a provision for monthly installments does not destroy the demand nature of a note. Johnston v. Johnston, 568 So.2d 567, 568 (La.App. 5th Cir.1990), writ denied, 571 So.2d 655 (La.1990); Blanchard v. Progressive Bank & Trust Co., 413 So.2d 589, 591 (La.App. 1st Cir.1982). In the instant case, our examination of the notes themselves reveals that they are unquestionably demand notes.

The second issue is whether First Eastern owed Henning a duty of good faith with regard to the calling in of the demand notes. The trial judge found that there was no such duty. Louisiana law provides that a party who wishes to accelerate at will a negotiable instrument which is not payable until a future date may do so "only if he in good faith believes that the prospect of payment or performance is impaired." La.R.S. § 10:1-208. The official comment to this statute provides that this obligation of good faith has no application to demand instruments or other obligations "whose very nature permits call at any time with or without reason." Id. U.C.C. Comment.

Henning strenuously argues that despite this comment, First Eastern owed it an obligation of good faith under Louisiana Civil Code articles 1759 (general mutual duty of good faith in all obligations) and 1983 (general duty of good faith performance of a contract). Henning relies on an Alabama case in which that state's highest court held that even though the U.C.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
635 So. 2d 273, 1994 WL 79961, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henning-const-v-first-eastern-bank-lactapp-1994.