Faber Industries, Ltd. v. Witek
Faber Industries, Ltd. v. Witek
Opinion of the Court
Faber Industries, Ltd. (Faber) filed suit on 18 October 1995 against Dori Leeds Witek (Dori Leeds) seeking to recover monies owed pursuant to a guaranty agreement. Both parties motioned for summary judgment and submitted affidavits and on 18 April 1996 the trial court entered summary judgment for Dori Leeds and denied summary judgment for Faber. Faber appeals from this order.
The evidence, considered in the light most favorable to Faber, Brice v. Moore, 30 N.C. App. 365, 367, 226 S.E.2d 882, 883 (1976), shows that on 1 August 1987 Dori Leeds signed a “Guaranty of Credit” (Agreement) with Sun Control Systems guaranteeing “the prompt payment, when due of every claim of [Sun Control Systems] which
The issue is whether Dori Leeds is liable, pursuant to the Agreement, to Faber for the debts incurred by David and Judith Leeds doing business as Blind Ambitions.
“A guaranty of payment is an absolute promise to pay the debt of another if the debt is not paid by the principal debtor.” Amoco Oil Co. v. Griffin, 78 N.C. App. 716, 718, 338 S.E.2d 601, 602, cert. denied, 316 N.C. 374, 342 S.E.2d 889 (1986). “The enforceability of the guarantor’s promise is determined primarily by the law of contracts.” Id. Where the terms of a guaranty contract are clear and unambiguous, its terms “are to be taken and understood in their plain, ordinary and popular sense.” Taylor v. Gibbs, 268 N.C. 363, 365, 150 S.E.2d 506, 506 (1966) (court cannot ignore or insert words in an unambiguous contract).
In this case, the dispute centers upon the identity of the principal debtor whose debt Dori Leeds was guaranteeing in the Agreement. Faber argues that Dori Leeds guaranteed the debts of Blind Ambitions, without regard to the ownership of the business at the time the debt was incurred. We disagree. The plain and unambiguous language of the Agreement provides that Dori Leeds guaranteed only the debts incurred by Dori Leeds at a time she was doing business as Blind Ambitions. Peirson v. American Hardware Mut. Ins. Co., 248 N.C. 215, 221, 102 S.E.2d 800, 804-05 (1958) (“DBA” means “doing business as”). The addition of the words “dba Blind Ambitions” did not expand Dori Leeds’ liability because the use of these words did not create an entity distinct from Dori Leeds. 57 Am. Jur. 2d, Name
Affirmed.
. The appeal from the denial of Faber’s motion for summary judgment is not properly before this Court and will not be addressed. Jeffreys v. Raleigh Oaks Joint Venture, 115 N.C. App. 377, 380, 444 S.E.2d 252, 254 (1994) (dismissing appellant’s appeal from the denial of a summary judgment motion).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FABER INDUSTRIES, LTD. v. DORI LEEDS WITEK (formerly Dori Leeds), Individually and d/b/a BLIND AMBITIONS
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published