First Farmers & Merchants Nat'l. Bank v. Burt Bros. Furniture ( 1997 )

FIRST FARMERS AND MERCHANTS )
NATIONAL BANK OF COLUMBIA, )
a national banking association with )
its principal office in Columbia, )
Maury County, Tennessee, )
)
Plaintiff/Appellee, ) Appeal No.
) 01-A-01-9608-CV-00381
VS. )
) Maury Circuit
BURT BROTHERS FURNITURE CO., ) No. 6746
INC., WILLIAM W. HARDISON, SR.,
and DOROTHY M. HARDISON,
individually, and d/b/a Burt
)
)
)
FILED
Brothers Furniture Co., Inc., )
) April 30, 1997
Defendants/Appellants. )
Cecil W. Crowson
Appellate Court Clerk
COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
MIDDLE SECTION AT NASHVILLE
APPEALED FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MAURY COUNTY
AT COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE
THE HONORABLE JIM T. HAMILTON, JUDGE
THOMAS H. PEEBLES, IV
WALLER LANSDEN DORTCH & DAVIS
809 South Main Street, Suite 300
P. O. Box 1035
Columbia, TN 38402-1035
Attorney for Plaintiff/Appellee
DELILAH A. SPEED
P. O. Box 973
Columbia, Tennessee 38402
Attorney for Defendant/Appellant
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED
BEN H. CANTRELL, JUDGE
CONCUR:
TODD, P.J., M.S.
LEWIS, J.
OPINION
The primary question in this case is whether a wife’s guaranty of her
husband’s debts covers debts for which he later became obligated as a guarantor.
The Circuit Court of Maury County granted summary judgment against the wife. We
affirm.
I.
On July 14, 1994, William W. Hardison, Sr., president and sole
stockholder of Burt Brother Furniture Co., Inc. in Columbia, renewed a note on behalf
of his company payable to the First Farmers & Merchants National Bank. The bank
held Mr. Hardison’s guaranty and one signed by his wife, Dorothy M. Hardison, on
June 9, 1989. The guaranties are identical except that Mr. Hardison secures the
debts of Burt Brothers and Mrs. Hardison’s secures the debts of her husband.
The first two paragraphs of Mrs. Hardison’s guaranty state:
FOR VALUE RECEIVED and for the purpose of
enabling William W. Hardison, Sr. of Columbia, TN
(hereinafter “Debtor”), to obtain credit from First Farmers
and Merchants National Bank of Columbia, Tennessee,
(hereinafter called “bank”), the undersigned hereby
guarantees prompt payment at maturity, or at any other
time thereafter, of any and all indebtedness or obligations
upon which Debtor now is or may hereafter at any time
become obligated or bound to said bank either as
principal or endorser, whether said obligations arise by
loans, overdraft, or other extensions of credits made by
and with the consent of Debtor and we agree to pay all
costs and expenses incurred by said bank in enforcing
this guaranty, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.
It is understood and agreed that this guaranty is
and shall be continuing in nature; that this guaranty
guarantees the performance of all present and future
obligations of Debtor; that no additional writing or
guaranty shall be required of guarantor at the time Debtor
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incurs future obligations; and that this guaranty will
obligate guarantor on all future obligations of Debtor.
When Burt Brothers defaulted on the note, the bank sued the company
and Mr. and Mrs. Hardison. Mrs. Hardison admitted signing the 1989 guaranty but
asserted that her guaranty covered only those obligations that Mr. Hardison incurred
as a principal or endorser, not as a result of his own guaranty. The court granted the
bank’s motion for summary judgment.
II.
We agree that the language of Mrs. Hardison’s guaranty covers the
obligations of Mr. Hardison arising from his guaranty of Burt Brothers’ debts. The
guaranty is very broad in its terms. While the first paragraph does refer to Mr.
Hardison’s liability as principal or endorser, the second paragraph “guarantees the
performance of all present and future obligations” of Mr. Hardison. In Tennessee the
words of a guaranty agreement are to be taken as strongly against the guarantor as
the sense will admit. Hickory Springs Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Evans, 541 S.W.2d 97 (Tenn.
1976); Taylor v. Ross, 736 S.W.2d 614 (Tenn. App. 1987). Therefore, the guaranty
covers the obligation Mr. Hardison now has to the bank as a result of his own
guaranty.
There are no disputed issues of fact and the bank is entitled to a
judgment as a matter of law.
We affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand this cause to the
Circuit Court of Maury County for any further proceedings necessary. Tax the costs
on appeal to Mrs. Hardison.
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_____________________________
BEN H. CANTRELL, JUDGE
CONCUR:
_______________________________
HENRY F. TODD, PRESIDING JUDGE
MIDDLE SECTION
_______________________________
SAMUEL L. LEWIS, JUDGE
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