JOHN R. GEHRIG AND WILLIAM KIMMERLING, ETC., APPELLANTS,
v.
W. C. RAY, JR., APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1976-06-07
No. Z-342
RAWLS and McCORD, JJ., concur.
332 So. 2d 703 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

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Synopsis

In this appeal from summary judgment on a promissory note, the court reversed, holding that the defendants' allegations of being accommodation makers and the accommodated party relationship raise genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment, even though oral evidence of the accommodation agreement would normally be excluded by the parol evidence rule when a holder in due course is involved.


Holding

The court held that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding whether the defendants were accommodation parties and whether the appellee was the accommodated party, precluding summary judgment. Parol evidence of the accommodation agreement is admissible because the appellee is not a holder in due course without notice, and an accommodation party is not liable to the accommodated party under Florida law.


Headnotes

[1] Parol evidence is admissible to show an accommodation agreement for a promissory note unless the party seeking to enforce the note is a holder in due course without notic…

[2] An accommodation party is one who signs an instrument in any capacity for the purpose of lending their name to another party to it.

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Key Quotes

“An [accommodation party] is one who signs the instrument in any capacity for the purpose of lending his name to another party to it.”

Definition of accommodation party under Florida law that establishes the legal framework for evaluating the defendants' claim

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Facts & Procedural History

Appellee filed suit against Gehrig and Kimmerling on a promissory note for $30,000, claiming he had loaned that sum to them. The defendants admitted e…

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Opinion of the Court
BOYER, Chief Judge.

BOYER, Chief Judge.

Appellants, defendants below, appeal from a summary final judgment entered in favor of appellee, the holder and payee of a promissory note. The issue before us is whether the defenses of want of consideration and appellants’ alleged status as accommodation makers raise factual questions sufficient to preclude the entry of summary judgment.

The law relating to summary judgment has long since been established and we need not repeat it here. (See Connell v. Sledge, Fla.App.1st 1975, 306 So. 2d 194)

Appellee filed a complaint, alleging nonpayment of a promissory note made to his order and executed by appellants. In their answers, appellants raised as an affirmative defense failure of consideration. In support of a motion for summary judgment subsequently filed by him appellee attached his own affidavit which alleged that he had loaned appellants the sum of $30,000 as evidenced by the subject promissory note and that no part thereof had been paid. In opposition to the motion for summary judgment, appellant Gehrig filed his affidavit which admitted the execution of the promissory note but claimed that the $30,000 was not paid to him but was instead transmitted through him to appellee’s brother-in-law, further alleging that: “It was understood by all parties that neither I nor William Kimmerling were to receive the monies under the note but we were acting as an accommodation to Mrs. W. C. Ray, Jr. and it was further understood by all parties that neither I nor William Kim-merling would ever be legally liable under the note to Mr. W. C. Ray, Jr. or any other person.” After a hearing on the motion, the trial court entered its order, finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact and that appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Defending the propriety of the summary judgment appellee urges that evidence of the accommodation agreement, necessarily being oral in nature, may not be considered because of the parol evidence rule. Florida law is to the contrary. Under F.S. 673.415(3), parol evidence is admissible unless one is a holder in due course without notice of the accommodation.1 The record reveals that appellee is not a holder in due course.

Turning to the question whether appellants are accommodation makers, we must initially determine what an accommodation party is. Under Florida law, “An accommodation party is one who signs the instrument in any capacity for the purpose of lending his name to another party to it.” (F.S. 673.415(1)) The payee of a note may be the accommodated party.2 It is apparent therefore that the allegations in appellant Gehrig’s affidavit were sufficient to raise an issue as to whether appellants were, in fact, accommodation parties.

Having determined that there is at least a ligitimate issue of fact as to whether appellants were accommodation parties, we must ask whether appellants’ status as accommodation parties is a valid defense to this action. Normally, appellants would be liable on the promissory note involved herein because the liability of an accommodation party is that of a surety, and an accommodation maker is liable on the instrument as a maker. (4A Fla.Jur. 424, “Bills, Notes, and Other Commercial Paper”, Section 340) However, Florida law specifically provides that an accommodation party is not liable to the party accommodated. (F.S. 673.415(5)) 3 According to appellant Gehrig’s affidavit, appellants were accommodating appellee, rather than appellee’s brother-in-law.

Thus, at least two material issues of fact are raised by appellant Gehrig’s affidavit which would preclude the entry of summary judgment. First, are appellants accommodation parties? Second, is appel-lee the accommodated party ?

Having determined that summary judgment was improvidently entered we find it unnecessary to discuss appellants’ defense of failure of consideration.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.

RAWLS and McCORD, JJ., concur. . See Giberson v. Moore, 35 Ill.App.2d 175, 182 N.E. 2d 767 (3rd Dist. 1962) and Ehlers v. Butler, 127 Ga.App. 9, 192 S.E. 2d 398 (1972).

. See Giberson v. Moore, supra; Ehlers v. Butler, supra; United Refrigerator Co. v. Applebaum, 410 Pa. 210, 189 A. 2d 253 (1963) and T. W. Sommer Co., Inc. v. Modern Door and Lumber Co., 293 Minn. 264, 198 N.W. 2d 278 (1972).

. Please see authorities cited under Footnote 2 above.


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Citator

Cited By

  • …uoting Permanent Editorial Board for the UCC, PEB Commentary on the Uniform Commercial Code, Commentary No. 11, at 2 (West 1998)). The suretyship status of the accommodation party precludes direct liability to the accommodated party. Gehrig v. Ray, 332 So. 2d 703, 705 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976) (“Florida law specifically provides that an accommodation party is not liable to the party accommodated.”) (citation omitted). Indeed, this prohibition on direct recourse is codified in section 673.4191(5), Florida Statutes…
  • Dobrow v. J.D. Bryant, Jr., 427 So. 2d 809 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)
    …Dobrow’s counterclaim. We affirm the balance of the summary judgment and remand this proceeding to the trial court. REVERSED IN PART; AFFIRMED IN PART; AND REMANDED. COWART, J., concurs. DAUKSCH, J., concurs in conclusion only. . Gehrig v. Ray, 332 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); § 673.415, Fla.Stat. (1981). . See, e.g., Daigle v. Chaisson, 396 So. 2d 573 (La.App, 3rd Cir.1981); Fithian v. Jamar, 286 Md. 161, 410 A. 2d 569, 27 U.C.C.R.S. 481 (1979). . Appellees admit they rely primarily on Perry v. Bry…
  • Gildred v. Alverde, 500 So. 2d 307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
    …accommodated when the appellant fixed her name to the note subsequent to the maker’s death, subsequent to the maturity of the note, and admittedly at the request of the plaintiff. Dobrow v. Bryant, 427 So. 2d 809 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Gehrig v. Ray, 332 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976). Therefore, for the reasons above stated, the summary judgment and attorney’s fees and costs awarded on the claim under the $400,000 note are reversed. We do not reverse the final summary judgment for $25,000, as any objection…

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