Travelers Insurance Co. v. Bosler

906 S.W.2d 635, 1995 WL 520000
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 19, 1995
Docket2-94-147-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 906 S.W.2d 635 (Travelers Insurance Co. v. Bosler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Travelers Insurance Co. v. Bosler, 906 S.W.2d 635, 1995 WL 520000 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

PAT McCLUNG, Justice

(Retired).

This is an appeal from a judgment awarding appellees $100,000 in attorneys’ fees and from a declaratory judgment appellees obtained against appellant The Travelers Insurance Company (Travelers). The judgment made final the trial court’s prior interlocutory order granting appellees’ motion for partial summary judgment on their declaratory judgment claim and denying Travelers’ motion for partial summary judgment on its deficiency claim against appellees as guarantors of a promissory note.

*638 In eighteen points of error, Travelers complains that the trial court erred in granting appellees’ motion and in denying Travelers’ motion. We reverse the trial court’s judgment in favor of appellees and render judgment in favor of Travelers on its deficiency claim against appellees.

Factual Background

The summary judgment evidence in this case reflects the following undisputed facts:

On October 17,1988, appellee Towne Lake Village Apartments, Ltd. (Towne Lake), by its general partner, appellee James L. Bos-ler, executed and delivered to Peoples Financial Mortgage Corporation (Peoples Financial) a promissory note (the 1988 Note) dated October 17, 1983, payable to Peoples Financial in the original principal amount of $11,-600,000 together with interest. The 1983 Note was secured in part by real property located in Dallas County where Towne Lake intended to and did construct an apartment complex.

As further security for the 1983 Note, appellees Bosler, Christopher Hashioka, Cameron Rottler, Jay S. Walker, Don C. Golightly, Jackie Woodfield, and Suzanne Adkins (the guarantors) executed a guaranty agreement (the 1983 Guaranty) dated October 17, 1983. In the 1983 Guaranty, the guarantors unconditionally and absolutely guaranteed the payment of all of the debts, obligations, and liabilities of Towne Lake related to the loan evidenced by the 1983 Note, including “any and all renewals, extensions and rearrangements” of it. The 1983 Guaranty provides that it “is a continuing guaranty and shall continue to apply without regard to the form or amount of indebtedness or obligation which Borrower [Towne Lake] may create, renew, extend or alter in whole or in part, without notice to Guarantor.”

Also, the 1983 Guaranty provides that it is for the benefit of all the assignees of Peoples Financial and any holder of the indebtedness evidenced by the 1983 Note. On or before June 26,1984, and effective as of October 17, 1983, the 1983 Note, the 1983 Guaranty, and all security for the loan evidenced by the 1983 Note were assigned by Peoples Financial to Peoples Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Association (Peoples Heritage).

On or about June 26, 1984, Towne Lake and Peoples Heritage executed a Modification and Restatement of Note (the Modification) in which the 1983 Note was modified and extended. The Modification contains the following nonrecourse provision:

8. Limitation on Liability. Neither Maker nor any of its general or limited partners shall have any personal liability for the payment of the principal of or interest on this Note or for any claim based on this Note, or the performance or observance of the covenants, representations, warranties or obligations contained in this Note or in any instruments securing this Note, and Payee and each holder of this Note agree to look solely to the security from time to time existing for the indebtedness evidenced by this Note for the payment or satisfaction of any claim hereunder or under any instrument now or hereafter securing this Note. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the holder of this Note or any part thereof from exercising and enforcing any of the remedies allowed at law or equity or by any statute or by the terms of any other security instrument of any kind now or hereafter securing the payment of this Note.

The guarantors each executed a second guaranty agreement (the 1984 Guaranty) dated June 26, 1984 in which the guarantors guaranteed the payment to Peoples Financial and its successors and assigns of all the indebtedness, obligations, and liabilities of Towne Lake relating to the loan evidenced by the 1983 Note, including “all amounts payable under or with respect to [the 1983 Note] as modified by the [Modification].” The 1984 Guaranty provides that it is “an additional guaranty to any and all other guaranties heretofore or hereafter executed and delivered ... and nothing herein shall ever be deemed to replace or be in lieu of any other such previous or subsequent guaranties.” The 1984 Guaranty was amended by an Amendment to the Guaranty Agreement (the Guaranty Amendment) executed by each *639 of the guarantors and dated as of June 26, 1984.

On November 1, 1984, Travelers acquired a participation interest in eight loans owned by Peoples Heritage, including a 90% participation interest in the loan evidenced by the 1988 Note and the Modification (collectively the Note). Subsequently, Peoples Heritage was declared insolvent, and the Resolution Trust Corporation (the RTC) was appointed receiver for Peoples Heritage.

Towne Lake defaulted under the terms of the Note when it failed to pay certain installments when due. The RTC provided Towne Lake and the guarantors with notice of the defaults and with an opportunity to cure, and the RTC also made demand on Towne Lake and the guarantors for payment of all past due amounts. When Towne Lake and the guarantors did not cure the defaults within the time provided, the RTC accelerated the Note and declared the outstanding principal and all accrued but unpaid interest to be immediately due. Furthermore, the RTC gave Towne Lake and the guarantors notice of the acceleration and made demand upon them for immediate payment of the past due amounts. When Towne Lake and the guarantors did not pay the amounts demanded, the RTC posted the real property securing the Note for a June 2, 1992 foreclosure.

On May 29, 1992, Travelers purchased the Note from the RTC together with all of the RTC’s rights, powers, title, and interest in the Note, the 1983 Guaranty, and the 1984 Guaranty, as well as in the deed of trust and the assignment of rents for the real property securing the Note. Travelers thus became the owner and holder of the Note, the beneficiary under the deed of trust, and the owner of the 1983 Guaranty and the 1984 Guaranty.

Several hours before Travelers purchased the Note, the 1983 Guaranty and the 1984 Guaranty on May 29, 1992, appellees filed this suit, seeking a declaratory judgment that neither Towne Lake nor the guarantors had any liability for the balance owed under the Note and the 1984 Guaranty. On June 2, 1992, Travelers foreclosed on the real property securing the Note. After applying all offsets, payments, and credits, including the foreclosure sale proceeds, the parties stipulated in the trial court to a deficiency of $4,227,321.24 as of July 31,1993, postforeclo-sure interest of $285,903.34 through July 31, 1993, plus interest continuing to accrue after July 31, 1993 at the per diem amount of $704.5535. Travelers filed a counterclaim to recover this deficiency.

The Parties’ Claims

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
906 S.W.2d 635, 1995 WL 520000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/travelers-insurance-co-v-bosler-texapp-1995.