Overholt v. Merchants & Planters Bank

637 S.W.2d 463, 1982 Tenn. App. LEXIS 377
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMarch 10, 1982
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 637 S.W.2d 463 (Overholt v. Merchants & Planters Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Overholt v. Merchants & Planters Bank, 637 S.W.2d 463, 1982 Tenn. App. LEXIS 377 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

SANDERS, Judge.

Plaintiffs have appealed from a decree of the chancery court denying them relief from a wrongful foreclosure under a deed of trust.

In 1974 George G. Hill and wife executed a deed of trust to Defendant-Appellee, James E. Robinson, Trustee, on four contiguous pieces of land in Cocke County. The deed of trust was to secure a $50,000 note payable to the Defendant-Appellee, Merchants & Planters Bank, bearing 9% interest, payable in 143 installments of $400 each [464]*464and one last installment of $24,738.88. The deed of trust also provided: “The first payment due _ and succeeding payments due on the same day of each succeeding month until the entire principal and interest is fully paid. Said payments are a series and default in any payment when due shall, at the option of the owner of said note, mature the remaining unpaid indebtedness.”

After Mr. Hill executed the deed of trust he fell on hard times and was frequently late in making his payments. The record shows that between the execution of the deed of trust and the date of sale to the Plaintiff-Appellant, Sanford Overholt, some 19 of his payments were late, some for more than 30 days.

Mr. Hill also was indebted to the Defendant Bank for machinery and equipment. It appears that in December, 1980, the bank started foreclosure proceedings on the machinery and equipment and at the same time started foreclosure proceedings on the real estate, although the payments on it were not delinquent nor was there any relationship between the indebtedness on the machinery and that on the real estate. After legal proceedings were filed to enjoin the foreclosure proceedings on the real estate the bank withdrew its foreclosure pro.-ceedings on it.

On January 8, 1981, Mr. Hill sold the property to Mr. Overholt. The property was sold to the Plaintiff subject to the balance on the outstanding deed of trust at that time which was approximately $47,000. After the Plaintiff purchased the property he paid each monthly installment promptly as it became due. Although the deed of trust fails to state on what day of the month the payments were due, it appears from the record that the parties considered the payments were due on the 20th of each month. May 20, 1981, fell on Wednesday and the bank was closed on that day. Patricia Smelcer, who customarily drew the checks and made the payments on the loan for Mr. Overholt, drew the cheek on that date with the view of making the payment the following day. She got busy on Thursday, however, and forgot to take the check to the bank, but took the check to the bank the first thing the following morning. She gave the check to one of the women at the bank who took it to the office of Mr. Robinson, the president of the bank. Mr. Robinson returned the check to Mrs. Smelcer and refused to accept it, without giving her any explanation. After that she went to talk to two of the directors of the bank but was unable to get any assistance from them. Later in the day she returned to the bank and tendered the payment to Mr. Robinson again, along with an additional check of $5.00 for late charges, but again it was refused. After that a Mr. Dale Cody attempted to make the payment at the branch bank but it was again refused.

Not having been successful in getting the bank to accept the payment the Plaintiff filed suit in the chancery court asking the court to decree that the bank was required to accept the payment and to enjoin the Defendant from foreclosing on the property. The day following the filing of the suit the Defendant began foreclosure proceedings on the property.

The Plaintiff then filed a second suit asking the court to enjoin the foreclosure. Mr. George G. Hill also joined as a Complainant in that case.

The two eases were heard before the chancellor on August 19. At the conclusion of the hearing the court declined to grant the Plaintiff any relief and stated the complaint would be dismissed. The court seemed to be under the impression that Mr. Overholt had no standing to maintain the suits and that any tender of payment should have been made on behalf of Mr. Hill instead of Mr. Overholt. For this reason a third suit was filed by Mr. Hill asking the court to enjoin the foreclosure. A second hearing was held before the chancellor on August 24. Part of the same evidence was offered in this proceeding as was offered in the original hearing but no evidence was offered that was different from that in the original hearing. The chancellor again declined to grant the injunctive relief.

[465]*465The Plaintiffs have appealed all three cases and they are before us on a consolidated record. For the purpose of the determination of the case we do not deem it necessary to consider the last two cases since they were not necessary for the chancellor to have made a proper disposition of the original case. We shall consider the three cases as one.

The record is in a rather unsatisfactory condition in that the chancellor stated at the conclusion of the first hearing that the complaint was dismissed but the decree, as entered, which dismissed the complaint, has a notation inserted saying, “Insofar as it seeks extraordinary relief.” In view of this provision of the decree we deem it appropriate to waive the requirements of Rule 9 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure and treat this as an interlocutory appeal.

The Plaintiff, in his appeal, says it was error for the chancellor not to hold the Defendant was required to accept the tendered payment and to enjoin the foreclosure.

We agree. The proof shows unequivocally that the Defendant was lying in wait for the Plaintiff to make a technical default so it could foreclose on the property. It appears that the reason the bank was so adament in its desire to get this property was because it had suffered a loss on the loan it had made to Mr. Hill on his equipment. Mr. Robinson, president of the bank, testified that because they had suffered a loss on Mr. Hill’s machinery they were going to try to get any equity there might be in this property. Before the default on May 20 Mr. Robinson had instructed the employees at the bank not to accept the payment on the loan if default were ever made. When Mr. Overholt went to talk to Mr. Robinson after the payment had been refused Mr. Robinson said to him, “Sanford, this is the opportunity we have been waiting for.” He said, “You were late one day — one hour, or whatever — you were late.” In his testimony Mr. Robinson described what transpired with reference to the Plaintiff tendering the payment, as follows:

“Q. And do you know of your own knowledge who brought a payment to the bank and when it was done?
“A. His secretary brought a check.
“Q. Do you know when that was brought?
“A. The day after the payment was due.
“Q. The day after the payment was due?
“A. Yes.
“Q. Did the bank refuse to accept the payment?
“A. We did.
“Q. Did she attempt again to make the payment, that same payment, within the matter of a day or so?
“A. Well, when we refused the payment at the main office then his secretary went to our branch and tried to tender the payment at one of our branches, and we refused it there, and then later ... it must have been that same day she brought .. .

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Bluebook (online)
637 S.W.2d 463, 1982 Tenn. App. LEXIS 377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/overholt-v-merchants-planters-bank-tennctapp-1982.