Pioneer Credit Co. v. Medalen

• Citation: 326 N.W.2d 717
• Decision Date: 24 November 1982
• Docket Number: No. 10257,10257
• Parties: PIONEER CREDIT COMPANY, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John MEDALEN, Defendant and Appellant. Civ.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of North Dakota

Page 717

326 N.W.2d 717

PIONEER CREDIT COMPANY, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John MEDALEN, Defendant and Appellant.

Civ. No. 10257.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Nov. 24, 1982.

Pringle & Herigstad, Minot, for plaintiff and appellee; argued by Richard P. Olson, Minot.

Benson Law Offices, Bottineau, for defendant and appellant; argued by A.S. Benson, Bottineau.

PEDERSON, Justice.

This is an appeal by John Medalen from a summary judgment entered by the district court of Ward County. We affirm.

Medalen's daughter and son-in-law, Joanne and Walter Rockvoy, were obligated on a promissory note to Pioneer Credit Company. The Rockvoys failed to make payment and Pioneer began foreclosure proceedings against Rockvoy property. The Rockvoys signed a confession of judgment but asked Pioneer to accept a personal guarantee in exchange for withholding execution on the judgment. Pioneer agreed, and its attorneys drafted a "Guarantee of Payment" which John Medalen signed.

The Rockvoys did not pay the judgment but filed for bankruptcy. Pioneer then sought payment from Medalen. After filing suit against Medalen, Pioneer sought summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56, NDRCivP. Medalen had not responded to the complaint.

At the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, the court granted Medalen an additional ten days to submit an answer to the complaint and the Rule 56(e) affidavits. Medalen then filed an answer and affidavits admitting that he signed the "Guarantee of Payment," but denying liability because (1) he did not read the "Guarantee of Payment" before he signed it, (2) Walter Rockvoy misrepresented what the document was, and (3) there was no consideration in exchange for his signature. These allegations, Medalen asserted, presented genuine issues of fact that precluded the court from granting summary judgment. The trial court, however, found no material facts in dispute and granted Pioneer's motion for summary judgment.

Medalen asserts, in his brief on appeal, that the trial court abused its discretion in not granting more time to accumulate additional evidence in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. The transcript indicates that Medalen requested ten days, which the court granted. At oral argument counsel for Medalen conceded this point. There has been no showing that the court abused its discretion by granting Medalen only the ten days that he requested in which to file affidavits and an answer.

Medalen argues that genuine issues of fact exist and, therefore, the court erred in granting summary judgment. We do not agree that genuine issues of fact do exist. Summary judgment is a procedural device used for the prompt and expeditious disposition of a controversy without a trial when there is no dispute over the material facts and the inferences to be drawn from them, or when there is only a question of law involved. Sheets v. Letnes, Marshall & Fiedler, Ltd., 311 N.W.2d 175, 180 (N.D.1981); Breene v. Plaza Tower Ass'n, 310 N.W.2d 730, 733 (N.D.1981); Schoonover v. Morton Cty., 267 N.W.2d 819, 821-822 (N.D.1978). On appeal from a summary judgment, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom summary judgment was granted. This court may determine only if a genuine issue of material fact exists and if the law has been applied correctly. Erickson v. Farmers Union Mut. Ins. Co., 311 N.W.2d 579, 580 (N.D.1981).

The first reason advanced by Medalen for denying liability on the guarantee was that he did not read the "Guarantee of Payment" before signing. Failure to read a document before signing does not excuse ignorance of its contents unless the party shows that "he was prevented from reading it by fraud, artifice, or design by the other party or his authorized representative." Oliver-Mercer Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Fisher, 146 N.W.2d 346, 357 (N.D.1966). Medalen's affidavit did not allege that Rockvoy or Pioneer prevented him from reading the "Guarantee of Payment." Rather, as the court noted, the affidavit revealed that Medalen "failed to read the document entirely on his own volition." Thus, the court properly concluded that this assertion did not present a genuine issue of material fact.

The second reason Medalen raised to deny liability to Pioneer was that Walter...