SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO. v. ASBN, INC.

594 S.E.2d 135, 163 N.C. App. 547, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 416
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedApril 6, 2004
DocketNo. COA03-676.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 594 S.E.2d 135 (SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO. v. ASBN, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO. v. ASBN, INC., 594 S.E.2d 135, 163 N.C. App. 547, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 416 (N.C. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

TIMMONS-GOODSON, Judge.

Nathan Alberty ("defendant") appeals the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of The Sherwin-Williams Company ("plaintiff"). For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court's order.

The evidence presented at the summary judgment hearing is as follows: On 24 September 1987, plaintiff leased commercial property in Charlotte, North Carolina, to James H. Simmons ("Simmons"). Simmons later assigned his interest in the lease to ASBN, Inc. ("ASBN"). The lease provided that unless ASBN exercised an option to renew included in the lease, the lease was to expire on 30 December 1994. However, the lease also contained a hold-over provision that automatically authorized a year-to-year tenancy if the tenant remained in possession of the premises after the expiration date of the lease and without the consent of plaintiff.

On 26 September 1988, Betty Alberty, Maria Jandera, Joseph Zahradnicek, and defendant all signed a personal guaranty assuring full performance by ASBN of the lease terms. After expiration of the lease, ASBN continued to occupy the premises as a hold-over tenant. On 28 February 1997, plaintiff and ASBN entered into a "lease amendment and extension," which bound ASBN to the lease retroactively from 1 January 1995 until 30 December 1999. While no personal guaranty was executed in connection with the "lease amendment and extension," defendant, the sole signor of the "lease amendment and extension," signed it in his capacity as vice-president of ASBN. ASBN defaulted on its lease after September 1998.

Plaintiff initiated this action on 1 June 1999, seeking damages in connection with ASBN's default on the lease. On 4 November 1999, defendant and Betty Alberty moved for summary judgment against plaintiff.

*137On 10 January 2000, plaintiff responded by filing a cross-motion for summary judgment against all defendants. On 30 March 2000, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant and Betty Alberty and against plaintiff. The trial court also denied plaintiff's motion for summary judgment against defendant and Betty Alberty, and granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment against ASBN and defendants Jandera and Zahradnicek.

Plaintiff appealed the denial of its motion for summary judgment against defendant and Betty Alberty. In Sherwin-Williams Co. v. ASBN, Inc., 145 N.C.App. 176, 180, 550 S.E.2d 527, 530 (2001) ("ASBN, Inc.I"), this Court affirmed the trial court's judgment as to Betty Alberty and reversed and remanded the judgment as to defendant. On remand, plaintiff again moved for summary judgment against defendant on 20 February 2003. On 5 March 2003, the trial court granted plaintiff's motion. From this order, defendant appeals.

The only issue in the present appeal is whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in its determination that defendant is estopped from denying his personal guaranty continued on the lease after 28 February 1997. For the reasons discussed herein, we conclude that defendant's previous personal guaranty continued on the lease, and we affirm the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff.

In ASBN, Inc. I, we determined that the 28 February 1997 "lease amendment and extension" was a new lease, not an extension or amendment of the 1987 lease. 145 N.C.App. at 179, 550 S.E.2d at 530. Therefore, we affirmed the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Betty Alberty, who had not signed as a guarantor of the new lease. Id. at 180, 550 S.E.2d at 530. Although we noted that defendant had not signed as a guarantor of the new lease, we also noted that his signature as vice-president of ASBN authorized the new lease. Id. at 179-80, 550 S.E.2d at 529-30. We recognized that as vice-president of ASBN, defendant "could have benefitted from the new lease[,] which allowed his business to continue in its present location." Id. at 180, 550 S.E.2d at 530. We also recognized that if defendant did benefit from the new lease, the law set forth in Devereux Properties, Inc. v. BBM & W, Inc., 114 N.C.App. 621, 442 S.E.2d 555, disc. review denied, 337 N.C. 690, 448 S.E.2d 519 (1994) would preclude defendant from denying that his personal liability as guarantor continued under the new lease. Id. Therefore, we reversed the summary judgment order as to defendant and remanded to the trial court with instructions to determine whether defendant in fact benefitted under the new lease. Id.

On remand, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff. Defendant now argues that the trial court erred in finding that defendant received an individual benefit from the new lease. In support of this argument, defendant submits that he presented the trial court with an affidavit stating that he "invested over $150,000 to keep the restaurant afloat, but to no avail." Defendant further submits that he received no salary or dividend from ASBN, that he and his wife have twice mortgaged their home, and that he is currently operating an unprofitable tax and accounting business. Defendant's argument that he received no benefit from the new lease is unconvincing.

In Devereux, this Court noted an exception to the rule that "a material alteration of a contract between a principal debtor and creditor without the consent of the guarantor discharges the guarantor of [his] obligation." 114 N.C.App. at 623, 442 S.E.2d at 556. The Devereux exception "holds the guarantor responsible for any changes to which he has either expressly or impliedly consented."

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

O'BRIEN BROTHERS'P'SHIP, LLP v. Plociennik
2007 VT 105 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 2007)
O'Brien Bros.' Partnership, LLP v. Plociennik
2007 VT 105 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
594 S.E.2d 135, 163 N.C. App. 547, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 416, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sherwin-williams-co-v-asbn-inc-ncctapp-2004.