TD Bank v. Environ Svs.

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: March 21, 2012
• Docket: CUMcv-11-559
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MY; STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss. CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO: CV-11-559 ·· d A A.V ~. r: \. !A/\.._ J 1\ ·1 ivj 201 'L ,..)/ I I

TD BANK, N.A. f/k/ a TD BANKNORTH, N.A.

Plaintiff,

v.

ENVIRON SERVICES, INC. and ROLAND A. SMALLEY, JR.

Defendants,

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Before the court is the plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment against

defendants, Environ Services, Inc. and Roland A. Smalley, Jr. The motion was filed on

February 3, 2012. The defendants have not filed an opposition.

BACKGROUND

On or about August 21, 2006, Roland A. Smalley, Jr. ("Smalley"), in his capacity

as President of Environ Services, Inc. ("Environ") executed a Promissory Note to TB

Bank in the amount of $75,000.00. (Pl. SMF

upon demand. (Pl. SMF

Security Agreements and Smalley, personally, executed a Commercial Guaranty to

secure the Note. (Pl. SMF

are in default on the Note, Security Agreement, and Guaranty and seeks payment of

$78,934.24 in principal, interest, late fees, and attorney's fees and costs. (Pl. SMF

6.)

1 DISCUSSION

The Plaintiff brings this motion for summary judgment on counts of breach of

contract and unjust enrichment against Environ and breach of guaranty against

Smalley. Summary judgment should be granted if there is no genuine dispute as to any

material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. M.R. Civ. P.

56( c). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court should consider the

facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and the court is required to

consider only the portions of the record referred to and the material facts set forth in the

parties' Rule 56(h) statements. E.g., Johnson v. McNeil, 2002 ME 99, 1 8, 800 A.2d 702,

704. When the Plaintiff has moved for summary judgment, it is the Plaintiff's burden to

demonstrate that each element of its claim is established in the record without dispute

as to material fact. Cach v. Kulas, 2011 ME 70, 1 8, 21 A.3d 1015.

z. Breach of Contract/Guaranty

To succeed on a claim for breach of contract the plaintiff must establish the

existence of a legally enforceable contract by proving (1) meeting of the minds, (2)

consideration, and (3) mutuality of obligation. Dam J. Moreau & Son, Inc. v. Federal

Pacific Electric Co., 378 A.2d 151, 153 (Me. 1977). The plaintiff must also establish a

material breach of a term of the contract, causation, and damages. Me. Energy Recovery

Co. v. United Steel Structures, Inc., 1999 ME 31, 17, 724 A.2d 1248. The Plaintiff's

statements of material fact establish the existence of a valid contract between TD Bank

and Environ and that Environ agreed to pay the full amount due upon demand. The

Plaintiffs statements of material fact also establish the existence of a valid contract

between TD Bank and Smalley and that Smalley agreed to guarantee full and punctual

payment on the debt. Plaintiff has also proven, through the affidavit testimony of

Carolyn Cote stating that the Defendants have failed to pay the amounts owed, that

2 both Environ and Smalley failed to comply with material terms of those contracts.

There is no dispute as to TD Bank's performance and TD Bank has proven the amount

of damage it has suffered resulting from non-payment. Therefore, the statements of

material fact establish each element of the count without dispute as to material fact and

summary judgment is properly granted on these claims.

zz. Unjust enrichment

To prevail on a claim for unjust enrichment, the complaining party must show

that: "(1) it conferred a benefit on the other party; (2) the other party had appreciation

or knowledge of the benefit; and (3) the acceptance or retention of the benefit was under

such circumstances as to make it inequitable for it to retain the benefit without payment

of its value." Platz Assocs. v. Finley, 2009 ME 55, err 27, 973 A.2d 743, 750 (citing Me. Eye

Care Assocs. v. Gorman, 2008 ME 36, err 17, 942 A.2d 707, 712). As shown above, TD Bank

has sufficiently proven each of these elements in its statements of material fact by

proving that it loaned money to Environ, that Environ appreciated that it was receiving

money as a loan, and that the expectations of the parties was that the loan amounts

would be repaid with interest. Therefore, TD Bank is entitled to judgment on this claim.

The entry is:

The Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.

The Clerk is directed to incorporate this Order into the docket by reference

pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 79(a).

DATE: ~ \·~

JoyceAheeler Justice, Superior Court

3 Plaintiff-Arthur Cerullo Esq Defendants-David Perkins Esq -Quinn Collins Esq