Marine Midland Bank-Central v. Gleason

62 A.D.2d 429, 405 N.Y.S.2d 334, 1978 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10852
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 19, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 62 A.D.2d 429 (Marine Midland Bank-Central v. Gleason) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marine Midland Bank-Central v. Gleason, 62 A.D.2d 429, 405 N.Y.S.2d 334, 1978 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10852 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

[432]*432OPINION OF THE COURT

Cardamone, J.

Plaintiff, Marine Midland Bank’s complaint alleges malpractice, negligence and breach of contract against the defendants Richard A. Gleason, Walter C. Foulke, Paul Magill and Gerald Hewitt, individually and doing business as a partnership known as Gleason, Foulk, Magill and Hewitt, for its failure to file promptly a UCC-1 financing statement with the New York Secretary of State covering certain personal property as security for a loan made by plaintiff to Auburn Inn, Inc. Plaintiff claims that as a result of the tardy filing collateral securing the loan was lost to Federal and State tax authorities as holders of intervening tax liens. Plaintiff seeks to recover from defendants the amount of the value of its lost collateral.

On December 15, 1972 the Small Business Administration (SBA) authorized a guaranteed participation loan by plaintiff to Auburn Inn, Inc., a hotel and restaurant operator. SBA promised to purchase 78% of the $275,000 loan and pay 78% plaintiff’s costs and expenses in th event of default. The conditions of approval, inter alia, required execution of a note by the borrower payable in installments; unconditional personal guarantees by a number of individuals; a first mortgage on the borrower’s hotel real property located in Auburn; and a "First Security Interest (under New York State Uniform Commercial Code) in all machinery, equipment (excluding automotive equipment), fixtures and furniture now owned and hereafter acquired by Borrower.”

The defendant law firm was retained by plaintiff to represent it in the preparation of the necessary papers and at the closing. The note and mortgage were prepared under the supervision of defendants and were executed on January 5, 1973. The mortgage contained a provision granting plaintiff a security interest in "all fixtures and articles of personal property now or hereafter used or intended to be used in connection with said premises”. The mortgage was duly recorded in the Cayuga County Clerk’s office on January 5, 1973. At the same time, a UCC-1 financing statement covering "All machinery, equipment (excluding automotive equipment), fixtures and furniture now owned and hereafter acquired by debtor” was filed in the Cayuga County Clerk’s office. However, no financing statement covering the debtor’s personal property was filed with the Department of State until March [433]*4335, 1975 when a UCC-1 form identical to that previously filed with the County Clerk was filed by plaintiffs attorneys.

On May 8, 1974, October 9, 1974 and February 18, 1975, the New York State Tax Commission filed three tax warrants in the Cayuga County Clerk’s office against Auburn Inn, Inc., for its failure to pay sales and use taxes imposed pursuant to articles 28 and 29 of the Tax Law. The warrants totaled $40,398.69. A "Notice of Federal Tax Lien” was also filed in the same County Clerk’s office on February 4, 1975 and on February 7, 1975 in the office of the Secretary of State. The Federal tax warrant totaled $33,141.64.

On February 20, 1975 the State Tax Commission purported to levy on the furnishings; and personalty of the inn when its representives padlocked several areas, posted notices and removed the liquor license. The cash register was emptied and the money taken by the State’s agents.

On March 5, 1975 Auburn Inn, Inc., defaulted in its mortgage payments and a foreclosure proceeding was commenced by plaintiff. Judgment of foreclosure and sale was entered in the Cayuga County Clerk’s office on July 30, 1975. The judgment directed sale by the referee and provided that if the proceeds were insufficient to pay the debt, plaintiff could recover any deficiency from the guarantors, "provided a motion for a deficiency judgment shall be made as prescribed by section 1371 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law within the time limited therein, and the amount thereof is determined and awarded by an order of this court as provided for in said action”. At the foreclosure sale on August 27, 1975 plaintiff bid in the premises for $223,400 and a deed thereto was delivered to plaintiff by the referee on September 11, 1975. The foreclosure sale left a deficiency balance of $78,763.76. On September 15, 1975 plaintiff in turn conveyed the premises to the SBA.

The State Tax Commission held its tax lien sale of the hotel’s equipment on September 2, 3 and 4, 1975. The gross proceeds of the sale amounted to $53,690.40 and, after the deduction of expenses, the net amount realized was $47,431.38. No portion of the moneys resulting from the sale of the hotel’s equipment remained to be applied to plaintiff’s deficiency.

Recognizing the potential liability of defendants herein, plaintiff and the guarantors of the mortgage debt stipulated that plaintiff could move pursuant to section 1371 of the Real [434]*434Property Actions and Proceedings Law for a deficiency judgment within 30 days after settlement or entry of final judgment in the instant action. Plaintiff bank commenced the present action on December 9, 1975 seeking recovery of $53,690.40, the amount realized by the State from the sale of the hotel’s equipment and the value of the collateral allegedly lost by reason of defendant’s failure to perfect plaintiff’s security interest in that equipment.

Plaintiff moved for summary judgment in the amount of $53,690.40 and defendants cross-moved for summary judgment seeking a dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint. Special Term awarded partial summary judgment to plaintiff in the sum of $33,141.64, the amount of the Federal tax lien, and ruled that the stipulation extending the time for plaintiff’s motion for a deficiency judgment did not operate to discharge defendants from liability for malpractice. Special Term also held that the filing of the Federal tax lien gave the Federal Government a perfected security interest in the taxpayer’s personalty to the extent of $33,141.64, which interest was superior to plaintiff’s unperfected security interest in the hotel equipment; and, finally, held that issues of fact were presented on the question of whether the State’s tax lien was superior to plaintiff’s security interest in the hotel equipment.

Concededly, the defendants did not file the UCC-1 financing statement covering the hotel personalty with the Department of State as required by section 9-401 (subd [1], par [c]) of the Uniform Commercial Code until March, 1975. Therefore, the security interest was not perfected until that date and the rights of prior lien creditors have priority over the holder of the security interest. Defendants, on this appeal contend that earlier filed State and Federal liens suffer from fatal infirmities promoting plaintiff’s later filed lien to a superior position. Thus, defendants urge that the fact that they failed to file the UCC-1 financing statement with the Department of State until March, 1975 in no way prejudiced plaintiff’s interest in the collateral. Plaintiff has also appealed and contends that it should be granted summary judgment for the full amount of its loss because the State tax warrants which it asserts became perfected liens upon filing, cut off plaintiff’s rights in the collateral.

Defendants claim that the stipulation entered into between plaintiff bank and the guarantors of the loan which purported to extend the 90-day statutory period for recovery [435]*435of a deficiency judgment is invalid (Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, § 1371).

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Bluebook (online)
62 A.D.2d 429, 405 N.Y.S.2d 334, 1978 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10852, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marine-midland-bank-central-v-gleason-nyappdiv-1978.