Roth v. H.R. Philipsborn & Co. (In Re Roth)

56 B.R. 876, 1986 Bankr. LEXIS 6950
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 7, 1986
Docket19-05622
StatusPublished

This text of 56 B.R. 876 (Roth v. H.R. Philipsborn & Co. (In Re Roth)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roth v. H.R. Philipsborn & Co. (In Re Roth), 56 B.R. 876, 1986 Bankr. LEXIS 6950 (Ill. 1986).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND JUDGMENT ORDER THEREON

JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge.

After trial of this adversary case, the Court having taken evidence and testimony and considered all evidence admitted and the arguments of counsel, the parties having rested and proceedings being closed, this Court now makes and enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff/Debtor RICHARD L. ROTH (“Roth”) was an experienced developer and well-acquainted with the custom and practices in the construction finance industry.

2. On August 4, 1978, Roth applied to Defendant H.F. PHILIPSBORN & CO., a corporation (“Philipsborn”) for a $2 million end loan (permanent mortgage loan) and a $2 million construction loan.

3. The terms and conditions of the end loan and construction loan are contained in the application.

4. Roth read and understood the application prior to his signing it.

5. The application states and Roth was aware that Philipsborn would obtain end loan funds from another lender for the use of Roth.

6. In this instance, Philipsborn obtained an end loan for Roth from The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (“ManuLife”).

7. ManuLife committed to make Philips-born for the use of Roth an end loan subject to certain conditions contained in its letter of August 22, 1978.

8. Philipsborn committed to make an end loan and construction loan to Roth on September 7, 1978.

9. Philipsborn’s commitment to Roth was subject to Philipsborn’s conditions contained in its letter of September 7, 1978, and ManuLife’s letter of August 22, 1978.

10. Roth knew and understood that his mortgage loan was subject to the conditions contained in the Philipsborn letter of September 7, 1978 and the ManuLife letter of August 22, 1978.

11. Roth’s signified his knowledge of the terms and conditions in the Philipsborn letter of September 7, 1978 and the Manu-Life letter of August 22, 1978 by countersigning the Philipsborn letter.

12. When Roth applied for construction financing, he envisioned that the Farmgate II project would take one year to construct.

13. Philipsborn Equities, Inc. and H.F. Philipsborn & Company were both owned by IC Industries, Inc.

14. Equities made different types of loans and invested in different types of projects than did Philipsborn.

15. Roth applied to Equities for a $540,-000 land loan in addition to the construction loan from Philipsborn in order to have sufficient funds to complete the project.

16. Equities turned down Roth’s application for a land loan and thereby no contract was entered into between Roth and Equities for a land loan.

17/ A “holdback” is a sum of money which the end lender does not disburse to the developer at the time the end loan is funded, unless (or until) a certain contingency is met.

18. The end loan included a $300,000 holdback for rental performance.

19. Pursuant to the terms of the rental performance holdback, Roth had to achieve $275,000/year in arms-length leases by May 1, 1980 in order to qualify to receive the funds held back by ManuLife.

20. In the event that Roth did not meet his rental performance by May 1, 1980, *878 Roth’s end loan would be for only $1.7 million.

21. End loans and construction loans are both mortgages on the property.

22. ManuLife’s commitment required that it have a first mortgage on the property, the Farmgate II shopping center.

23. Philipsborn’s construction commitment required that it have a first mortgage on the property, including the land on which the center was to have been built, at the time the construction loan opened.

24. A loan is “opened” when the developer satisfies the construction lender that he has all the necessary documentation to obtain the loan and he has a sufficient amount of working capital, including the construction loan, to complete the project.

25. In the industry, the terms “opening” a loan and “closing” a loan are sometimes used interchangeably to signify the point where all documentation has been exchanged by the lender and the developer, and the developer has received final approval to draw funds from the total loan amount.

26. The term “take out” is used in the industry to describe the act of the end lender in paying the construction lender the amount of the construction loan.

27. In the ordinary course of business, the end lender takes out the construction loan at the time the end loan is funded.

28. In the ordinary course of business, a construction lender will not lend to a developer a sum in excess of the end loan funds which will be tendered to the developer at closing.

29. A “gap” is the term used to signify the difference between the amount of a construction loan and the cost of the project.

30. A gap loan can be made to a developer to enable him to pay costs during the period of time that the end lender is retaining funds pursuant to a holdback contingency.

31. The size of the gap would, in this instance, be the size of the holdback.

32. A construction loan generally is not paid in one sum.

33. A construction loan is paid as the developer brings to the construction lender his statements and invoices for work completed.

34. A “contractor’s sworn statement” is given by a subcontractor to a contractor, or a contractor to the owner, to signify that all amounts due and owing that subcontractor or contractor have been paid.

35. A construction lender may also reimburse a developer for prepaid expenses from the proceeds of a construction loan.

36. In the industry, the term “to be in balance” is used to signify that the developer has sufficient funds, including the total amount of the loan, to complete the project.

37. In the industry, it is standard practice for the construction lender to have the developer expend his own funds on the project before opening the construction loan.

38. This expenditure is the developer’s equity in the project.

39. To have been in balance in the case at bar, Roth would have to have had a sufficient amount of available cash or prepaid expenses to equal the difference between the estimated costs of construction and the loan amount available to be disbursed.

40. Roth never demonstrated that he had sufficient equity or funds in addition to what would have been disbursed under the Philipsborn construction loan to complete the project.

41. Philipsborn’s refusal to disburse construction loan funds was commercially reasonable in light of Roth’s failure to be in balance.

42. As of June 28, 1979, Roth did not have signed leases for space generating $275,000 annual income.

43.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 B.R. 876, 1986 Bankr. LEXIS 6950, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roth-v-hr-philipsborn-co-in-re-roth-ilnb-1986.