Walton v. Piqua State Bank

466 P.2d 316, 204 Kan. 741, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1067, 1970 Kan. LEXIS 409
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMarch 7, 1970
Docket45,575
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 466 P.2d 316 (Walton v. Piqua State Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walton v. Piqua State Bank, 466 P.2d 316, 204 Kan. 741, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1067, 1970 Kan. LEXIS 409 (kan 1970).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Fatzek, J.:

The principal questions presented are whether the promise of Marjorie E. Walton comes within our statute of frauds (K. S. A. 33-106), as a “special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage” of her brother, Robert E. Kendall, and [743]*743whether her deposit of $15,000 in a savings account in The Piqua State Bank constituted a valid pledge to secure an indebtedness to the bank.

The facts are not greatly in dispute. The plaintiff Marjorie E. Walton, is a young farm widow, and started helping her brother, Robert E. Kendall, financially, shortly after her husband’s death in 1964. She had advanced him approximately $69,000 prior to the transaction in controversy. Some of the money was used to enable Kendall to move his family to Yates Center, but, by far, the majority of the money was used to enable him to set up his TV and Appliance business in Yates Center and to meet his business expenditures, such as obtaining inventory, meeting his payroll, making good insufficient checks written by him, and his business obligations in general. All of those transactions were entered into by Mrs. Walton to help her brother establish his business. She had no primary motivation to benefit herself.

About the time Kendall started his TV and Appliance business in Yates Center, Mrs. Walton signed a guaranty agreement with General Electric Credit Corporation (GECC) to enable him to finance his inventory. In September, 1965, Kendall was substantially in debt to GECC and it was pressing him for payment. It had a security agreement on his inventory and was going to pick it up. As he had done in the past, Kendall sought his sister’s assistance. She loaned him $4,000 which he sent to GECC for the amount due. Between September, 1965, and October 14, 1966, Mrs. Walton advanced Kendall more than $22,000 on twelve different occasions to pay his creditors. Between the latter date and December 27, 1966, she advanced Kendall money for the same purpose on three other occasions, totaling at least $6,000. It was conceded her intention in making the loans was to enable Kendall to continue his financing arrangements, and to keep his inventory from being repossessed. The fact she guaranteed his indebtedness with GECC in no way influenced her decision.

The present controversy arises out of loans The Piqua State Bank made to Kendall on and subsequent to October 14, 1966.

Mrs. Walton’s petition alleged she deposited $15,000 in a savings account in the bank; that she demanded a return of the deposit but the bank refused her demand; that it claimed she was guarantor of certain sums it advanced to Kendall, doing business as Kendall’s TV and Appliance; that a copy of the purported guaranty agreement [744]*744the bank was relying on was attached to her petition as Exhibit A; that the same was null and void having no legal effect whatsoever, and was in violation of K. S. A. 33-106; that said purported guaranty agreement failed to comply with the statute of frauds in that it was not completely in writing; that the same failed to state with reasonable certainty each party to the contract, either by his own name or by such a description as would serve to identify him, or the name or description of his agent; that it failed to state with reasonable certainty the terms and conditions of all the promises constituting the contract, or to whom the promises were made; that neither the amount guaranteed, nor whose debt was guaranteed, was stated in said purported agreement; that no reference was made by said wilting to the principal obligation, nor did the writing describe in any way the principal obligation, and that the purported guaranty was invalid since it was not supported by any valid consideration, and was not capable of being performed within one year. The petition further alleged misrepresentation and fraud on the part of the defendant, but no evidence was offered on this point. The prayer was that the purported guaranty agreement be declared null and void as being in violation of K. S. A. 33-106, and that plaintiff be permitted.to withdraw the $15,000 deposited in the savings account.

The bank answered, and filed a cross petition. It admitted Mrs. Walton deposited $15,000 in a savings account in the bank, and, except as otherwise admitted or explained, it denied generally and specifically the petition.

The bank alleged Kendall sought a loan totaling $25,000, which it was unable to make since he did not have sufficient security; that Kendall was told by Dreiling, as president of the bank, the loan could be made if the plaintiff would guarantee it and deposit $15,000 in a savings account to be held as a guarantee. It further alleged a meeting on October 14, 1966, between Mrs. Walton, Kendall, and Dreiling, and that Mrs. Walton offered to guarantee the loan to Kendall and presented a true copy of a financial statement she had given to another bank; that Mrs. Walton offered to sign a written guarantee and to deposit $15,000 in a savings account to guarantee repayment of the loan, conditioned upon her being entitled to write checks upon the Kendall TV and Appliance account to which the proceeds of the loan were to be deposited; that it accepted plaintiff’s offer, and made loans to Kendall on which [745]*745the present balance due was in excess of $25,000; that the proceeds of the loans were deposited to Kendall’s TV and Appliance account and Mrs. Walton was authorized to write checks thereon; that Mrs. Walton deposited checks of the New England Life Insurance Company totaling $25,230.20, $20,000 of which was deposited in the savings account in the name of Marjorie E. Walton, and the bank remitted $5,230.20 to her; that as a part of the same transaction, plaintiff executed and delivered to the bank for the purpose of guaranteeing the loan, the LOAN GUARANTY AGREEMENT, a copy of which was attached to plaintiff’s petition. It further alleged a loan of $15,000 to Kendall on October 14, 1966, and that the proceeds were deposited in his TV and Appliance account; that on said date, Mrs. Walton drew a check for $138.45 on the TV and Appliance account, payable to GECC, and that on October 17, 1966, she drew a second check on said account in favor of GECC for $14,119.64, which was honored in due course by the bank.

The bank further alleged that on September 14, 1967, Dreiling wrote Mrs. Walton, advising he was concerned about Kendall’s loans and thought she should know about the matter as she was guaranteeing them. It further alleged the plaintiff replied to Dreiling’s letter, and on October 31, 1967, Dreiling, as president of the bank, made written demand upon Kendall for payment of his entire indebtedness to the bank within ten days, such indebtedness being in the sum of $25,390, plus interest, and evidenced by two promissory notes; that payment was not made by Kendall as demanded, and Dreiling, as president of the bank, wrote plaintiff on November 20,1967, enclosing a copy of the demand letter addressed to Kendall, and demanded that plaintiff, as guarantor of his indebtedness, make full payment of the loans; that plaintiff did not make payment, but instead, commenced this action. The prayer was that plaintiff take nothing, and that the bank have judgment against plaintiff on her guarantee in the sum of $25,390, plus interest and costs.

Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
466 P.2d 316, 204 Kan. 741, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1067, 1970 Kan. LEXIS 409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walton-v-piqua-state-bank-kan-1970.