Interstate Agri Services, Inc. v. Bank Midwest, N.A.

982 S.W.2d 796, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2258, 1998 WL 901544
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 22, 1998
DocketNos. WD 54821, WD 54879
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 982 S.W.2d 796 (Interstate Agri Services, Inc. v. Bank Midwest, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Interstate Agri Services, Inc. v. Bank Midwest, N.A., 982 S.W.2d 796, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2258, 1998 WL 901544 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

FOREST W. HANNA, Judge.

Interstate Agri Services and certain individual investors brought suit against Bank Midwest to declare a contingent interest provision in the bank’s promissory notes unenforceable, and for the return of their money. The bank responded with a counterclaim for unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment on liability and for actual damages. The trial court sustained the plaintiffs’ motion and entered judgment against the bank for damages in an amount equal to the contingent interest that each plaintiff had paid. The case proceeded to trial before the court on the plaintiffs’ [798]*798claim for punitive damages, and on the bank’s counterclaim for unjust enrichment. The trial court denied both parties’ claims. The bank appeals the court’s decision regarding the bank’s counterclaim for a set-off claiming unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs have not appealed the trial court’s denial of their punitive damage claim. The plaintiffs have appealed the trial court’s denial of their motion to amend their petition to assert a claim for fraud. We hold that the plaintiffs have a valid action against the bank, which is not defeated by the bank’s claim that the offending interest charges were related to the profitability of the plaintiffs’ business.

The bank initially challenges the trial court’s ruling on the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion awarding damages in the amount of the contingent interest. The bank contends that the promissory notes were fully performed transactions and cannot now be reopened. The bank also argues that unlike the contingent interest provision in Killion v. Midwest, the contingent interest in the present case did not violate banking regulations because the contingency related to the profitability of the business entity.1 The bank also argues that because its mistake regarding the contingent interest was one of law, not fact, restitution should not be allowed. Next, the bank contends that the court erred in denying its claim for unjust enrichment because the bank gave plaintiffs a below-the-market rate of interest. Accordingly, the bank should have been allowed a set-off for the difference between the rate actually charged and the prevailing rate. The plaintiffs single point claims that the trial court erred in denying its motion for leave to amend.

In 1986, Interstate Agri got into the business of managing farms funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The farm economy and the value of farmland had declined substantially, thus the conservation program was initiated by the government to help raise the price of farmland and farm commodities. One of Interstate Agri’s owners, David Davenport, learned about the program. Mr. Davenport believed that CRP farms would be a good investment and purchased, in Interstate Agri’s name, four or five properties that were eligible for government payments under the program. Mr. Davenport convinced his family and friends to purchase eligible properties and to retain Interstate Agri to manage the farms for a management fee. The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are among those who purchased the 20-25 properties that Davenport arranged.

Davenport learned that the Dickinson Financial Group owned a number of banks that had a loan program specifically designed for farms eligible for the CRP program.2 The loan program was designed to provide 100 percent financing for the purchase of the farms. The idea was that the CRP payments would be sufficient to pay off the entire purchase price so that the owner would never have to make an out-of-pocket payment. No down payment was required. The government’s CRP payments expired after 10 years but, under the bank’s loan program, the farm loans would be paid off before the government payments terminated. The investors would make one mortgage payment a year which was less than the annual CRP payment. A balloon payment was due at the sixth year. It was expected that when the CRP monies ran out, the value of the lands would depreciate. All of these properties, except for one, sold for less than the original purchase price. The concept was that the plaintiffs would realize a profit when they sold the farmland.

Interstate Agri, through Davenport, had a power of attorney to operate the farms. In 1989 and 1990, acting on behalf of the banks and the plaintiffs, Davenport coordinated the pay-off of some of the loans. Because the loans were paid off early, the banks required that the plaintiffs pay the contingent interest. The bank maintains that the contingent interest provisions were inserted to protect it [799]*799in the event the farms were sold before the bank was paid in full. The plaintiffs voluntarily paid the contingent interest, which was calculated as follows:

40% of that sum by which the gross price of the property exceeds: 1) the outstanding balance of this loan on the date of sale if sold prior to the Maturity Date, or 2) the outstanding principal balance on the Maturity Date if sold after the Maturity Date.

The contingent interest rate was 40 percent on the Missouri and Iowa farm properties and 50 percent on the Colorado properties. The amount of contingent interest paid by the individual plaintiffs on the various notes

was:
Gorman-Vanderhoof $12,204.96
Gorman-Gorman 14,048.76
Davenport 14,275.12
Interstate Agri 7,852.21
Interstate Agri 7,411.85
Beachner 10,315.87

The standard of review, with respect to the trial court’s ruling on the summary judgment motion, is in accordance with ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-America Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371 (Mo. banc 1993). The standard of review on the bank’s third point, regarding the trial court’s decision denying the set-off after the bench trial, is pursuant to Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976).

In the present case, the plaintiffs paid off all of the promissory notes including the contingent interest demanded. Thereafter, in Killion v. Bank Midwest, this court determined that the contingent interest provision violated Missouri banking regulation 4 C.S.R. 140-6.050. 886 S.W.2d 29, 33 (Mo.App.1994). Consequently, the individual investors and Interstate Agri sued the bank for the contingent interest that they paid to the bank. The bank contends that, because the parties have fully performed their respective obligations under the loan documents, the plaintiffs should not be permitted to undo those transactions regardless of the Killion v. Bank Midwest decision holding the contingent interest illegal. The issue presented by the bank is whether illegal interest, in an otherwise legal contract, may be recovered from the creditor after the transactions have been completed. In the present ease, there is no factual dispute, thus the question is one of the law as to whether the plaintiffs have a cause of action against the bank for repayment of the contingent interest.

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Bluebook (online)
982 S.W.2d 796, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2258, 1998 WL 901544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/interstate-agri-services-inc-v-bank-midwest-na-moctapp-1998.