TRUSTMARK NAT. BANK v. Barnard

930 So. 2d 1281, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 437, 2006 WL 1529355
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 6, 2006
Docket2004-CA-01342-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 930 So. 2d 1281 (TRUSTMARK NAT. BANK v. Barnard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TRUSTMARK NAT. BANK v. Barnard, 930 So. 2d 1281, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 437, 2006 WL 1529355 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

930 So.2d 1281 (2006)

TRUSTMARK NATIONAL BANK, Appellant
v.
Loyd Dean BARNARD, Appellee.

No. 2004-CA-01342-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 6, 2006.

*1282 J. Mark Franklin, III, R. Keith Foreman, Ridgeland, Lara E. Gill, for appellant.

Grady L. "Mac" McCool, III, C. Victor Welsh, III, Jackson, for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., GRIFFIS and ROBERTS, JJ.

GRIFFIS, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Loyd Dean Barnard brought a declaratory judgment action against Trustmark National Bank. Barnard alleged that he was damaged as a result of Trustmark's negligence in the administration of two loans. Trustmark filed a counterclaim for payment on the loans and attorney's fees.

¶ 2. The chancellor found both parties negligent. The chancellor ordered Barnard to pay $4,500 on the May note and to pay the full principal amount on the September note, plus statutory interest. The chancellor ordered Trustmark to clear the notes off Barnard's credit report, within ninety days of his satisfaction of the judgment. Finally, the chancellor ordered *1283 both parties to be responsible for their own attorney fees and court costs.

¶ 3. Trustmark appeals and argues the following issues:

I. The chancellor erred as a matter of law in granting equitable relief contrary to binding statutory authority.
II. The chancellor erred as a matter of law in granting equitable relief on the claim of collateral impairment without proof of impairment by the lender and without proof of damages.

Finding error, we reverse, render and remand.

FACTS

¶ 4. Barnard had a close friendship and a business arrangement with Clarence T. (Bo) Morgan, Jr., who owned a used car dealership named Easy Way Automotive in D'Lo. Barnard bought a lot of trucks from Morgan and Easy Way. Their usual arrangement, which had been done ten or twelve times, was for Barnard to buy a truck from Easy Way, finance it for six months through Trustmark, use it for six months, and trade it back to Easy Way for another truck before the loan came due or at the end of the term. Barnard used the trucks, and he repaid the loan, principal and interest, to Trustmark through the proceeds received when the truck was sold by Easy Way.

¶ 5. Here, we consider Barnard's purchase of three trucks through two promissory notes with Trustmark. This litigation commenced after Easy Way's check to Trustmark was returned for insufficient funds.

¶ 6. The chancellor's judgment made the following findings:

The Court further finds that Dean Barnard executed two notes to Trustmark National Bank, one dated May 18, 2000 in the sum of $59,500 plus interest, said note maturing on November 14, 2000 and further note dated September 12, 2000 in the sum of $21,555, said note maturing on March 13, 2001. At the time of the execution of said notes[,] security agreements in favor of Trustmark together with title applications [were]prepared by Easy Way on the first two vehicles and by Trustmark on the last vehicle.
The Court further finds that Trustmark National Bank likewise had a relationship with Easy Way and Clarence T. Morgan, Jr. That Loyd Dean Barnard was a lifetime friend of Clarence T. Morgan, Jr. and Loyd Dean Barnard's wife, Angie, worked for Easy Way and Morgan.
The Court further finds that during the course of business between Trustmark, Easy Way and Barnard that there had been approximately eight vehicles that Barnard purchased from Easy Way and financed through Trustmark. That Trustmark carried the floor plan for Morgan. Morgan, with the exception of one vehicle, purchased these vehicles for Barnard using his floor plan with Trustmark and later paying off the floor plan with proceeds from the loans that Barnard obtained through Trustmark.
The Court further finds that exception reports were issued to Trustmark National Bank in Magee from the central office in Jackson identifying problems with the titles on Barnard's vehicle and that as early as May of 2000 said exceptions were received in the Magee office concerning the vehicles purchased by Barnard from Easy Way.
The Court further finds that all parties were negligent in the handling of both of these notes.
The Court further finds that had Trustmark National Bank used due diligence regarding the note of May 2000 that the scheme of its other customer, Easy Way *1284 and Morgan, would have been caught much earlier and the resulting loss, if any, would have been stopped.
The Court further finds that had Barnard been more diligent in the September 2000 transaction and not relied on his friendship with Morgan that the loss concerning that vehicle by the non-receipt of the check from Ward would not have resulted.
The Court further finds that because of the failure of Trustmark to secure titles on the vehicles that were a part of the May 2000 note that was their statutory requirement, as well as their duty to their customer, that any damages that occurred, occurred due to their negligence. However, this Court further recognizes that as shown by the testimony, Barnard had the use of one of the vehicles for approximately six months and that to discharge this debt without some responsibility on the part of Barnard would be against all principles of equity. And therefore, as to this note, the Court finds that the same should be discharged with the exception of $4,500.
The Court further finds that the September 2000 note shall be the responsibility of Barnard in the amount of $21,555, less the amounts interpled into this Court and being held by this Court for payment to the rightful owners. And said judgment shall carry interest at the rate of 6 percent until fully satisfied.

The chancellor ordered Trustmark to remove the adverse credit reports if Barnard satisfied the judgment within ninety days. The chancellor also required the parties to pay their own attorney's fees and court costs.

¶ 7. We must examine the evidence surrounding the two notes.

A. May note

¶ 8. On May 18, 2000, Barnard purchased two trucks from Easy Way. Barnard planned to use the red truck for his personal use and to sell the green truck. Easy Way acted as title agent.

¶ 9. Barnard went to the Magee branch of Trustmark to take out a loan to fund the purchase of the trucks. Trustmark loaned Barnard the purchase price of $59,500, for a six month term. Barnard executed a security agreement, with both trucks serving as collateral for the loan. Barnard told his loan officer Pax Mogenson that he planned to use one truck and sell the other truck. Until Barnard decided which truck he would sell, Barnard wanted to pledge both trucks as collateral. Trustmark deposited the loan proceeds into Easy Way's account, which was at Trustmark.

¶ 10. Barnard asked Easy Way to sell the green truck on consignment. When the green truck disappeared off Easy Way's lot in May, Barnard began to ask his friend Morgan what happened to the truck. Morgan indicated that he sold it for exactly what Barnard owed on it and promised Barnard that he would forward the sale proceeds to Trustmark to pay off a portion of the May note. Morgan also indicated that he would "redo" the May note to reflect that it was now only secured by the red truck. In November, Barnard received a notice that the full amount of the note was still due. Barnard then learned that Morgan did not do what he had promised.

¶ 11.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
930 So. 2d 1281, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 437, 2006 WL 1529355, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trustmark-nat-bank-v-barnard-missctapp-2006.