Brown Lakeland Properties v. Renasant Bank
Brown Lakeland Properties v. Renasant Bank
Opinion
¶ 1. In this appeal we must decide whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Renasant Bank, finding it was entitled to a deficiency judgment against Brown Lakeland Properties LLC (BLP) and Charles Brown (Brown). Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶ 2. In November 2012, BLP executed two commercial promissory notes to Renasant Bank for the loan amounts of $2,880,320.87 (Note One) and $906,786.40 (Note Two). Note One was secured by a 635-acre parcel of land in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and a 2.93-acre parcel of property in Brandon, Mississippi, on which a bowling alley sat. Note Two was secured by a 6.75-acre parcel of land on Old Fannin Road, also in Brandon, Mississippi. At the time the loans were made, Brown executed and delivered to Renasant Bank multiple continuing guaranties related to the notes, and in doing so, individually guaranteed to Renasant the indebtedness due on the notes. BLP defaulted on both loans, and Renasant foreclosed on the properties that had been pledged as security under the notes. Renasant purchased all three parcels at a public foreclosure sale.
¶ 3. In anticipation of the foreclosure sales, Renasant Bank obtained appraisals for all three parcels of land. The appraisals reported that the 2.93-acre, bowling-alley parcel had a market value of $1,500,000 and a disposition value (foreclosure or liquidation value) of $900,000; the 635-acre tract in Yazoo County had a market value of $1,240,000 and a disposition value of $930,000; and the 6.75-acre tract in Brandon had a market value of $1,475,000 and a disposition value of $885,000. In December 2014, at a public foreclosure sale, Renasant purchased the Rankin County properties-the 2.93-acre parcel for $778,100 and the 6.75-acre parcel for $780,000. Renasant purchased the Yazoo County 635-acre parcel for $900,000 at a public foreclosure sale in March 2015. BLP and Brown were given notice of the sales but did not attend either sale or bid on the properties.
¶ 4. In April 2015, Renasant sold the Yazoo County property to a third-party purchaser for an amount greater than that obtained at the foreclosure sale. Accordingly, Renasant applied the excess proceeds of $198,774.44-being the difference between the proceeds from the foreclosure sale and the proceeds from the third-party purchase-as a credit to the indebtedness owed under the notes. Likewise, in May 2015, Renasant sold the Rankin County properties to a third-party purchaser for an amount greater than that obtained at the foreclosure sale. Renasant also applied the excess proceeds from this sale, $228,501.59, as a credit to the indebtedness due under the notes.
¶ 5. After the collateral was liquidated and the excess proceeds from the third-party sales applied as credits to the notes, BLP and Brown remained indebted under the notes and continuing guaranties for the amount of $1,375,824.69. In July 2015, Renasant filed a complaint against BLP and Brown individually, seeking payment for the indebtedness due under the notes and continuing guaranties, as well as attorneys' fees and costs. In September 2015, BLP and Brown filed their answer, generally denying all of Renasant's claims and asserting all available defenses. BLP also filed a counterclaim, alleging that the foreclosure sales should be set aside for inadequate purchase prices, and that Renasant was negligent for failing to sell the properties in a commercially reasonable manner by failing to secure purchase prices that reflected the fair market values of the properties.
¶ 6. In May 2016, Renasant moved for summary judgment, asserting that it was entitled to relief under the terms of the notes and continuing guaranties due to the default of BLP. Renasant also moved for summary judgment with regard to BLP's counterclaim, asserting that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the commercial reasonableness of the sale. After a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted Renasant's motion for summary judgment, holding that BLP and Brown owed Renasant $1,416,722.86, which included legal fees, pre- and post-judgment interest, and costs. The trial court also dismissed BLP's counterclaim with prejudice. BLP and Brown now appeal and assert the following issues: 1) Renasant failed to demand the post-foreclosure deficiencies; 2) Renasant failed to establish that its bids represented the fair market value of the properties; and 3) the appraisals of the properties were deficient.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶ 7. This Court reviews a trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo.
Donovan v. Burwell
,
DISCUSSION
I. Demand for Post-Foreclosure Deficiency
¶ 8. BLP and Brown argue that Renasant "failed to show as a matter of record that any demand for the post-foreclosure deficiencies was ever made," and that this alone should have precluded summary judgment. For support, BLP cites only one case,
Gutierrez v. Gutierrez
,
¶ 9. In Gutierrez , an appeal arising from a divorce action, the husband asserted that the chancellor erred in the calculation of assets and liabilities, resulting in an erroneous equitable distribution.
¶ 10. Moreover, the record in the instant case supports that demand was made. In his sworn affidavit, Scott Williams, vice president and special-assets officer with Renasant Bank, stated that Renasant had made demand upon BLP as borrower and Brown individually as guarantor, to pay in full the principal and interest due and owing under the notes and guaranties. And finally, under the terms of the promissory note, BLP "waive[d] any required notice of ... demand" and, in the event of default, Renasant could "pursue any remedy available" under the loan documents, at law, or in equity. In a forbearance agreement executed to extend the maturity date of the loan, BLP and Brown acknowledged that the loan documents were valid and enforceable and that it had no defenses. BLP does not dispute that it defaulted, nor does it allege that the foreclosure was wrongful. This issue is without merit.
II. Fair Market Value
¶ 11. In its second issue on appeal, BLP argues that Renasant failed to establish that its bids at the foreclosure sales represented fair market value of the property because its bids were less than the appraised values.
¶ 12. "The creditor has no right to a deficiency judgment until he satisfies the court that it would be equitable, in the light of the sale price, to authorize a deficiency judgment."
Hartman v. McInnis
,
¶ 13. " 'Fair market value' is defined as 'the amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.' "
¶ 14. Here, Renasant provided evidence concerning the fair market value of both the Rankin County and Yazoo County properties. It hired independent certified appraisers to conduct appraisals in anticipation of the foreclosure sales, and the appraisal reports were completed in August 2014 (Rankin County properties) and January 2015 (Yazoo County property)-both shortly before the properties were sold.
¶ 15. BLP contends that Renasant did not establish the fair market value because it undisputedly purchased the three parcels for less than the foreclosure values by its own appraisals. However, Renasant did not merely demonstrate "a difference between the price paid at the foreclosure and the amount of indebtedness" in support of a deficiency judgment. All three parcels were later sold to third parties, demonstrating "the amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller," i.e., the fair market value. To the extent that these third-party sales resulted in an amount greater than the price paid at the foreclosure sale, Renasant applied these amounts, in addition to the foreclosure-sale prices, as a credit on BLP's indebtedness. Thus, by applying the credit from the third-party sales, Renasant gave BLP fair credit for the commercially reasonable value of the collateral and, in doing so, BLP was credited with a price greater than that of the appraised disposition values for both the Rankin County and Yazoo County properties. The record demonstrates that in regard to the Yazoo County property, BLP was credited with approximately $170,000 more than the appraised disposition value, and the credit was within approximately $150,000 of the appraised maximum market value. In regard to the Rankin County properties, BLP received credit for $1,786,000-the price at which the properties sold-being $1,000 more than the combined appraised disposition values. Renasant therefore established the fair market value of the properties and credited BLP with the same.
¶ 16. BLP failed to contradict the appraisal values or the third-party sales values with their own appraisals or other expert opinion regarding the fair market value of the property. BLP asserted that it received an offer to purchase a portion of the Rankin County property, and that the amount was greater, per square foot, than that obtained at the foreclosure and third-party sales. Our law is clear, however, that "evidence of mere offers or options to purchase property is not competent to establish [a property's] fair market value."
Allied Steel
,
¶ 17. While BLP argues that there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the fair market value and sale of the properties, "[a] fact is neither material nor genuinely contested ... merely because one party proclaims it so."
Suddith v. Univ. of S. Miss.
,
¶ 18. Here, there is no evidence that the appraised values or the third-party sales values were not fair market values. A party opposing the motion for summary judgment "must rebut by producing significant probative evidence showing that there are indeed genuine issues for trial."
Miller v. Myers
,
III. Adequacy of the Appraisals
¶ 19. BLP also asserts that the appraisals were deficient and were "inadequate as a proper metric of value for the subject parcels."
¶ 20. "Three standards are accepted in determining fair market value for real property: (1) the cost approach, (2) the income-capitalization approach, and (3) the market-data or comparative-sales approach."
Gulf S. Pipeline Co. v. Pitre
,
¶ 21. In this case, the Rankin County properties were appraised using the comparative-sales and income-capitalization approaches. The Yazoo County property was appraised using the comparative-sales and cost approaches. The respective appraisals employed the applicable approaches to value, and reconciled the values of the approaches utilized for a final value opinion. BLP criticizes the appraisals stating the approaches used were "either a worthless method, or in some instances, a potentially useful method was not employed." However, BLP does not offer evidence or state with specificity what approach should have been used in the alternative. Nor does BLP offer expert valuation testimony or competing appraisals. The record demonstrates that the appraisal reports were thorough and the methods utilized were well supported.
¶ 22. Again, "[a] fact is neither material nor genuinely contested ... merely because one party proclaims it so."
Suddith
,
¶ 23. With respect to Renasant's claim against Brown individually as a guarantor, Renasant is not required to demonstrate that the foreclosure price was commercially reasonable.
See
Bosarge v. LWC MS Props. LLC
,
CONCLUSION
¶ 24. Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the movant has established that it is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. M.R.C.P 56(c). "The mortgagee's right to a deficiency decree usually depends on the facts and circumstances of each case ...."
Hartman
,
¶ 25. AFFIRMED.
GRIFFIS, P.J., CARLTON, FAIR, WILSON, GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS AND TINDELL, JJ., CONCUR. IRVING, P.J., CONCURS IN PART AND IN THE RESULT WITHOUT SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. BARNES, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.