Holt v. Katsanevas

854 P.2d 575, 213 Utah Adv. Rep. 33, 1993 Utah App. LEXIS 81, 1993 WL 176206
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedMay 19, 1993
DocketNo. 920225-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 854 P.2d 575 (Holt v. Katsanevas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holt v. Katsanevas, 854 P.2d 575, 213 Utah Adv. Rep. 33, 1993 Utah App. LEXIS 81, 1993 WL 176206 (Utah Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

GREENWOOD, Judge:

Plaintiffs, Keith C. and Joyce S. Holt, appeal from an order of summary judgment entered in favor of defendant, Manuel Katsanevas. We reverse the summary judgment because plaintiffs demonstrated the existence of a material factual issue in this case, and remand.

BACKGROUND

In 1979, plaintiffs, defendant, and defendant’s brother, Steven Katsanevas, entered into a uniform real estate contract (the “Contract”), in which plaintiffs agreed to sell and the Katsanevas brothers agreed to buy real property located at 280 West South Temple in Salt Lake City (the “South Temple property”) for $275,000. The Contract included a prohibition against prepayments for the first 120 months and further provided that the Katsanevases would not receive title to the property until the purchase price was paid in full. As the first payment was due October 1, 1979, prepayments were prohibited until October 1, 1989.

In late 1982, defendant was approached by Triad Corporation concerning its possible purchase of the South Temple property for approximately $3,000,000. As part of the proposed transaction, Triad would require defendant to convey fee title by warranty deed to the South Temple property. Defendant, therefore, approached plaintiffs about replacing the South Temple property as collateral for the Contract with other property owned by defendant which was located at 118 North 300 West in Salt Lake City (the “North Temple property”). Plaintiffs gave tentative permission for the exchange of collateral.

Because the South Temple property was encumbered by an earlier loan to plaintiffs from Continental Bank and Trust, the Triad purchase also required payoff of that loan in order to clear title. The balance on the Continental Bank loan was approximately $46,000 at that time. After several meetings, the parties orally agreed that defendant could pay off the Continental loan, notwithstanding the Contract’s prepayment prohibition, plaintiffs would convey title to the South Temple property to defendant so that defendant could then sell the property to Triad, and defendant would provide substitute collateral for the Contract in the form of an assignment of contract for the North Temple property. According to plaintiffs, it was also agreed that the $46,-000 payment to Continental Bank would be applied to the end of the Contract’s original term rather than at the time of actual payment to Continental. Defendant, however, asserts that the parties agreed that the $46,000 was to be applied to the Contract at the time of payment.

Defendant paid the balance of the loan due to Continental Bank, title was cleared, and defendant sold the South Temple property to Triad Corporation. The Contract was then secured by the North Temple property via a February 13, 1984 document titled “Assignment of Contract (for Security)” and a Trust Deed bearing the same date. The Assignment of Contract recites that the assignment is given to secure an [577]*577indebtedness of approximately $172,000. The Trust Deed indicates that it secures a contract “in the principal sum of” $250,000. Both of these documents were prepared by counsel for defendant and were signed by defendant and his brother but not by'plaintiffs.

Also in 1984, a Release was executed by plaintiffs releasing defendant’s brother from his obligations under the Contract. The Release states in the recitals that the obligation due the plaintiffs by the defendant is “in the sum of $172,000 (as more particularly described in the Trust Deed and Assignment of Contract).”

Monthly payments, as required by the Contract, continued. Statements reflecting defendant’s payments and a principal balance consistent with application of the $46,-000 payment at the end of the Contract’s original payment term were sent to defendant by the escrow agent. Defendant used the escrow agent’s statements for tax purposes.

In late 1989, defendant objected to the escrow agent’s statements, claiming that the $46,000 payment should have been applied to the loan balance at the time it was paid to Continental Bank. Plaintiffs filed an action for declaratory relief against defendant, seeking an order determining that the parties agreed to apply the payment at the end of the Contract, and that the Contract’s prepayment prohibition remained in effect.

Both plaintiffs and defendant then filed motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs asserted an agreement to apply the payment at the end of the original contract’s payment period, which they supported with the escrow agent’s statements reflecting principal and interest balances consistent with application of the payment at the end of the original contract’s payment period. Additionally, plaintiffs asserted that in 1986 they had sent defendant a letter reflecting this agreement to apply the $46,-000 payment at the end of the original contract term, and defendant had not replied with any objection.

Plaintiffs also relied on an admission in defendant’s deposition that he had used the escrow agent statements to prepare tax returns for a number of years. In his deposition, defendant admitted awareness of discussions about different possibilities as to how the payment was to be applied. Plaintiffs contended that the affidavits, depositions, escrow statements, and other documents supported their position that defendant agreed to apply the payment at the end of the original contract’s payment period.

Defendant asserted, on the other hand, that two other documents supported his position that the payment should have been applied to the Contract’s principal balance at the time it was made. These documents were the assignment of contract for the North Temple property and the document releasing defendant’s brother from obligation under the Contract. Because both these documents indicate that the principal balance was approximately $172,000, defendant contends that they establish that the payment was applied to the principal of the loan at the time it was paid. Defendant also relied on two letters — an unsigned letter from plaintiffs to defendant, and a correspondence from defendant’s counsel to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs, however, denied ever seeing or sending the first letter, and denied receiving the second.

The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that the payment should have been applied to the Contract balance when paid. Plaintiffs then filed a motion for reconsideration, supported by an affidavit by Robert Bailey, a Continental Bank officer, and a second affidavit of plaintiff Keith Holt. According to the two affidavits, Bailey had been working with Keith Holt to obtain an SBA loan for him. The affidavits describe an informal meeting attended by Keith Holt, defendant, defendant’s legal counsel and Robert Bailey, in which the proposed Triad transaction was discussed. Keith Holt’s affidavit states that during this meeting he and the Katsanevas brothers reached an oral agreement to apply the Continental Bank payment at the end of the original contract’s payment period. Robert Bailey's affidavit also acknowl[578]*578edges a discussion regarding paying off the Continental Bank loan in order to allow the Katsanevases to sell their property to Triad. Bailey’s affidavit further states:

Keith [Holt] made three proposals; First, he offered to make the substitution if they would pay his increased income taxes for the year. They declined this plan. Second, he offered to substitute collateral if they would raise the interest rate on the contract. They declined the second offer.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
854 P.2d 575, 213 Utah Adv. Rep. 33, 1993 Utah App. LEXIS 81, 1993 WL 176206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holt-v-katsanevas-utahctapp-1993.