Lenders Beware: Read your guaranty carefully for technicalities that could leave you unprotected
Once again, my partner, Joe Demko, who handles much of our bank litigation, has a tip to pass along. This time, Joe warns about a drafting problem in a carve out from a "bad boy" guarantee. The essence of Joe's warning is that the person drafting loan documents must consider all possible outcomes of a condition. All too often, we see loan documents drafted to assume only the expected outcome. When the JMBM Special Assets Team is asked to get involved, we are faced with loan documents that fail to give us the teeth we need to collect the loan. Joe tells this sad story well.
Plumber Street Office Limited Partnership v. NRFC NNN Holdings LLC
by Joseph Demko
Recently the California Court of Appeal in GECCMC 2005-C1 Plumber Street Office Limited Partnership v. NRFC NNN Holdings LLC 2012 Westlaw 1035318 held there was no recourse against a guarantor who had signed a "bad boy" guaranty which provides for, among other things, the guarantor to be liable if "without the prior written consent of [the lender, either lease] is terminated or cancelled." The lender attempted to hold the guarantor liable because the tenant abandoned the property and thereafter the borrower defaulted. The lender brought suit against the guarantor, seeking to recover $42,000,000. The trial court entered summary judgment for the lender, but the appellate court reversed, holding that the tenant's abandonment of the property did not "terminate" the lease because the landlord/borrower never gave notice of termination to the tenant.
Guy Maisnik
Bennett G. Young
Matthew S. Kenefick