Woods v. SunTrust Bank
| Citation | 81 So.3d 357 |
| Decision Date | 16 September 2011 |
| Docket Number | 2100034 and 2100089.,2090627 |
| Parties | Vivian Marsheila WOODS, individually and as the personal representative of the estate of Vernon H. Gilchrist, deceased v. SUNTRUST BANK.Ex parte Vivian Marsheila Woods, as personal representative of the estate of Vernon H. Gilchrist, deceased.(In Re Vivian Marsheila Woods, individually and as the personal representative of the estate of Vernon H. Gilchrist, deceased v. SunTrust Bank).Vivian Marsheila Woods, as the personal representative of the estate of Vernon H. Gilchrist, deceased v. SunTrust Bank. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Robert M. Hill, Jr., Florence; and Steven D. Tipler, Birmingham, for appellant/petitioner Vivian Marsheila Woods.
John P. Scott, Jr., and Michael T. Scivley of Starnes Davis Florie LLP, Birmingham; and Preston S. Trousdale, Jr., of Jones & Trousdale, Florence, for appellee/respondent SunTrust Bank.
This court's opinion of June 24, 2011, is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefore.
Vernon H. Gilchrist and Willa Mae Gilchrist (hereinafter collectively referred to at times as “the Gilchrists”) obtained a $25,000 equity line of credit from SunTrust Bank (“SunTrust”) in 1987, which was secured by their home (“the Gilchrist home”); the Gilchrists also had a checking account with SunTrust. In December 2003, the Gilchrists executed durable powers of attorney naming Kenneth Gilchrist, their son, and Vivian Marsheila Woods, their daughter, as joint attorneys-in-fact. The Gilchrists executed a second and third power of attorney following Kenneth's death in April 2005, naming Woods as the Gilchrists' attorney-in-fact. The Gilchrists both suffered from significant health problems, requiring in-home care from caregivers and requiring Woods to handle many of their financial affairs.
In January 2005, Kenneth accompanied Vernon to SunTrust, where Vernon signed a check withdrawing $8,000 from the equity line of credit; Woods questioned the validity of the $8,000 withdrawal. The Gilchrists then stopped making payments on the equity line of credit, and the debt became delinquent and in default. In November 2005, SunTrust withdrew $1,899 from the Gilchrists' checking account to offset part of the delinquent equity-line-of-credit debt. SunTrust did not receive any more payments on the debt.
In the spring of 2005, SunTrust began collection efforts on the delinquent equity-line-of-credit debt. SunTrust made numerous telephone calls to the Gilchrist home in reference to the delinquent debt.1 The telephone calls were answered by various caregivers or Woods; the caregivers would relay the content of the telephone calls that they had received to Woods. Some of the collection calls were directed to the Gilchrists' attorney. Woods and the caregivers instructed SunTrust to direct all of its telephone calls regarding the debt to the Gilchrists' attorney; however, SunTrust continued to call the Gilchrist home. Willa Mae died on October 1, 2005.
In March 2006, SunTrust began foreclosure proceedings on the Gilchrist home. On April 5, 2006, Vernon and Woods, in her individual capacity, as attorney-in-fact for Vernon, and as the executrix of the estate of Willa Mae, 2 filed a complaint in the Lauderdale Circuit Court.3 In their complaint, Vernon and Woods sought temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent SunTrust from foreclosing on the Gilchrist home. Vernon and Woods also sought a declaratory judgment determining that Vernon was not indebted to SunTrust, requiring SunTrust to make a detailed accounting of all transactions relating to Vernon's account, and declaring that the pending mortgage foreclosure was invalid. Vernon and Woods further asserted claims of invasion of privacy, conversion of moneys, slander of title, “outrageous debt collection practices,” breach of contract, breach of the peace, breach of a fiduciary relationship, negligence, wantonness, and the tort of outrage. Vernon and Woods requested a jury trial on their claims and sought compensatory and punitive damages.
On August 10, 2007, Woods filed a suggestion of death with the trial court, stating that Vernon was deceased.
SunTrust stopped its foreclosure efforts, answered the complaint, and, on September 19, 2007, filed a counterpetition, in which it sought a declaratory judgment determining that the Gilchrists were indebted to SunTrust, that SunTrust had a valid and existing right to proceed with a foreclosure against the Gilchrist home, and that the sums due under the equity line of credit had become due and payable in full on January 28, 2007.
On November 19, 2007, Woods filed a motion to substitute the estate of Vernon H. Gilchrist (hereinafter referred to as “the estate”), by and through the estate's personal representative, Woods, as one of the plaintiffs in the case, in place of Vernon. The trial court granted the motion.
On July 10, 2009, SunTrust filed a motion for a summary judgment in favor of it on each claim in Woods's and the estate's complaint and on its counterpetition for a declaratory judgment. Following extensive briefing by the parties, and after conducting a hearing on the motion, the trial court entered a partial summary judgment on November 30, 2009. The trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of SunTrust on all the estate's claims except for its claims of negligence and wantonness relating to the $8,000 withdrawal. The trial court also entered a summary judgment in favor of SunTrust on each of Woods's individual claims except for her claim of invasion of privacy. In its partial summary judgment, the trial court also denied Woods's and the estate's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. The trial court further determined:
In January 2010, SunTrust renewed its efforts to foreclose on the Gilchrist home. On February 4, 2010, the estate moved the trial court to enter a temporary injunction to prevent SunTrust from foreclosing on the Gilchrist home. In its motion, the estate stated that SunTrust was claiming an unpaid principal balance of $137,320.10, comprising $16,157.83 on the debt and $121,162.27 in attorneys fees. The estate requested that the trial court enjoin the foreclosure “pending a jury determination of a reasonable attorney's fee and other issues before this court.” The trial court denied the motion on February 5, 2010. On February 8, 2010, the estate filed a motion titled “Motion to Set Aside Mortgage Foreclosure and to Redeem Mortgage,” in which the estate alleged that the foreclosure sale had taken place and that the estate had attempted to tender $16,157.83 at the sale, which had been refused in favor of SunTrust's bid of $137,320.10. The estate claimed that the reasonableness of the attorneys fees associated with the indebtedness could not be determined “until a jury is empaneled to hear [the] case and the reasonableness of the attorney fees are presented to the jury for determination.” The estate also claimed that the foreclosure sale was “unlawful, illegal, unauthorized, and fraudulent.” The estate requested that the trial court set aside the foreclosure and determine that any foreclosure deed issued following the sale would be void.
The estate's claims of negligence and wantonness and Woods's claim of invasion of privacy proceeded to a jury trial, which began on February 10, 2010. Before the trial, on January 28, 2010, SunTrust had filed a motion in limine, requesting that the trial court exclude any evidence or testimony concerning the frequency and content of telephone calls made to the Gilchrist home by SunTrust that were received by individuals other than Woods. SunTrust later submitted a brief in support of its motion. After hearing arguments of counsel, the trial court granted SunTrust's motion.
The jury returned a verdict in favor of SunTrust on the estate's claims of negligence and wantonness and on Woods's claim of invasion of privacy. The trial court entered a judgment on the jury's verdict on February 22, 2010. Woods and the estate subsequently appealed to this court on April 1, 2010. We transferred the appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Our supreme court transferred the appeal back to this court pursuant to § 12–2–7(6), Ala.Code 1975. This court assigned case number 2090627 to the appeal.
On August 27, 2010, the trial court purported to deny the estate's February 8, 2010, motion to set aside the foreclosure and purported to set the amount required for redemption of the Gilchrist home at $137,320.10. The estate filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the supreme court in relation to the trial court's August 27, 2010, order, together with a notice of appeal from that same order. Our supreme court transferred the petition for a writ of mandamus and the appeal to this court. This court assigned the petition for a writ of mandamus case number 2100034 and the appeal case number 2100089.
The estate first argues in case number 2090627 that the trial court erred by not issuing an injunction preventing SunTrust from foreclosing on the Gilchrist home. The estate, in its complaint, requested that the trial court enjoin SunTrust from foreclosing on the Gilchrist home during the pendency of the action. The trial court denied the estate's request for injunctive relief in its November 30, 2009, partial summary judgment. On February 4, 2010, the estate again moved the trial court to issue a preliminary injunction, requesting that the trial court enjoin SunTrust from conducting a foreclosure sale of the Gilchrist home...
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