Roberts v. Peoples Bank and Trust Co. of Sylacauga
| Decision Date | 26 February 1982 |
| Parties | Dollie W. ROBERTS v. PEOPLES BANK AND TRUST COMPANY OF SYLACAUGA, a Corporation. 80-735. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Lewis W. Page, Jr. of Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville, Birmingham, for appellant.
Robert J. Teel of Teel & Teel, Rockford, and Huel M. Love of Love, Love, Lawrence & Wood, Talladega, for appellee.
This is an appeal by Dollie W. Roberts from a decree rendered in behalf of Peoples Bank and Trust Company of Sylacauga, after an ore tenus trial, in its declaratory judgment action. The decree denied relief that Roberts asserted in her counterclaim.
The Bank alleged it had purchased property from the defendants, Dollie Roberts and others, by general warranty deed on 15 December 1977, and had prior to that, on 18 August 1977, procured a contract of sale and purchase that contained a provision Roberts claimed prevented it from using the property for any purpose other than the erection thereon of a bank building. The Bank further alleged it had purchased the property for the purpose of erecting a bank building thereon but later it became impractical to do so. The relief sought was a declaration that the Bank, as owner of the property in fee simple, had the right to sell or use the property for any lawful purpose.
Roberts's defense was that the Bank had fraudulently represented that its intention in purchasing the property was solely for the purpose of erecting a bank building and this representation was relied upon.
Prior to trial, default judgment was rendered against all defendants other than Mrs. Roberts.
The record in this cause reveals the following: In the early summer of 1977, Peoples Bank, through a real estate agent, Mrs. Lettye Byrum, approached the defendant, Dollie Roberts, about the sale of a lot owned by the Robertses and located in Sylacauga, Alabama. During a conversation, Mrs. Roberts was told by Mrs. Byrum that the Bank's purpose in purchasing the property was to build a bank on it.
On 18 August 1977, the parties executed a contract for the sale of the property. The contract provided:
The purpose of the purchase of the above land by grantee (Bank) is for the construction of a bank building.
On 15 December 1977, Mrs. Roberts executed a deed to plaintiff, Peoples Bank and Trust Company, conveying the property in question. The deed was prepared by Mrs. Roberts's attorney and examined by her before she signed it. The deed did not contain the provision quoted above from the sales contract.
The record shows that one Whitman was president of the Bank at the time of negotiations for the purchase of the property. During this time, Whitman represented to the Board of Directors of the Bank that the appropriate bank regulatory authorities had approved the construction of the bank building and arrangements had been made for the necessary financing. Whitman also represented to the Board that all necessary applications had been secured for the construction of the bank building.
In response to Whitman's representations, the Bank spent substantial amounts of money pursuing this endeavor, including money paid to an architectural firm, payment of real estate commissions, payment for a survey, as well as the sum of $125,000 for purchase of the lot.
Approximately 20 November 1977, Whitman resigned as president of the Bank and was replaced by Bill B. James. At trial, James testified that after conferring with the appropriate bank regulatory agencies in Atlanta sometime after the first of the...
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