Case Name: Lawrence ABRAMS, Appellant v. Larry BOGGS, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2005-06-28
Citations: 914 So. 2d 738
Docket Number: No. 2004-CA-00470-COA
Parties: Lawrence ABRAMS, Appellant v. Larry BOGGS, Appellee.
Judges: Before KING, C.J., IRVING and GRIFFIS, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 914
Pages: 738–743

Head Matter:
Lawrence ABRAMS, Appellant v. Larry BOGGS, Appellee.
No. 2004-CA-00470-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
June 28, 2005.
Rehearing Denied Sept. 13, 2005.
Certiorari Denied Nov. 17, 2005.
Stephan L. McDavid, Oxford, attorney for appellant.
James E. Price, Jr., Corinth, attorney for appellee.
Before KING, C.J., IRVING and GRIFFIS, JJ.

Opinion:
GRIFFIS, J.,
for the Court.
¶ 1. Lawrence Abrams filed this suit against Larry Boggs seeking to recover the principal and interest on a promissory note which Boggs executed in February 2001. Boggs maintains that he paid the note in full. The trial court granted a motion for directed verdict in favor of Boggs. Abrams appeals and argues that the trial court erred in granting the motion. We find the evidence presented at trial created questions of fact for the jury to decide and therefore reverse and remand.
FACTS
¶2. Abrams owned a building supply business in Corinth, Mississippi, named "Big Red Supply Company" (Big Red). In February 2001, Boggs and his business partner, Steve Wall, negotiated to purchase the business from Abrams. Abrams agreed to sell a 1/3 interest of the real property on which Big Red was located to each Boggs and Wall, with the option to buy the remaining 1/3 interest within a year. Boggs and Wall were each to pay $83,333.33 for their respective 1/3 interest.
¶ 3. In February 2001, Abrams signed a warranty deed reflecting the 1/3 interests of Boggs and Wall. Boggs and Wall each signed a promissory note to Abrams for $83,333.33. Boggs also signed a deed of trust on the real property to secure thé promissory notes.
¶ 4. An agreement was reached with the understanding that payment of Boggs' and Wall's interests would be obtained through a loan from Southbank. However, Boggs and Wall could not obtain the loan with their credit histories. Thus, Boggs, Wall and Abrams obtained a loan from South-bank for $250,000 using Abrams' credit history. The bank issued two checks. The first check was for $166,000 and the second was for $74,000 . Boggs and Wall immediately endorsed the $166,000 check and delivered it to Abrams. The $74,000 check was endorsed by all three and deposited by Abrams into Big Red's business account. After these transactions were complete, Boggs and Wall began to work for the business.
¶ 5. In January 2003, Abrams sent a letter to both Boggs and Wall demanding payment on the promissory note within ten days from receipt of the demand. After no response was received, Abrams filed a lawsuit against Boggs and Wall. Subsequently, Wall filed for bankruptcy. Abrams pursued the lawsuit against Boggs.
¶ 6. A trial was held in the Circuit Court of Alcorn County. At the close of Abrams' case-in-chief, Boggs moved for a directed verdict. The trial court found that Boggs had satisfied the debt owed to Abrams by-signing over the $166,000 check and thus granted the motion for directed verdict in favor of Boggs. Abrams now appeals to this Court.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶ 7. On appeal, we conduct a de novo standard of review of motions for directed verdict. Munford, Inc. v. Fleming, 597 So.2d 1282, 1284 (Miss.1992). When deciding whether the granting of a motion for directed verdict was proper by the lower court, this Court considers the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and gives that party the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence presented at trial. Id. If the favorable inferences have been reasonably drawn in favor of the non-moving party so as to create a question of fact from which reasonable minds could differ, then the motion for directed verdict should not be granted and the matter should be given to the jury. Id.
ANALYSIS
¶ 8. Abrams contends that the trial court erred in granting Boggs' motion for directed verdict since the evidence presented at trial created questions of fact for the jury to decide. Abrams argues that the remaining $84,000 was his share. He claims that he has been paid for selling 2/3 of the property, but argues that the $84,000 deposited into the business account was actually a loan to Boggs and Wall for operating capital. Therefore, Abrams contends that Boggs and Wall must reimburse him the $84,000.
¶ 9. Boggs contends that he did not owe Abrams anything other than $83,333.33. He claims that he satisfied this debt for the 1/3 interest in the real property when he and Wall endorsed the $166,000 check and delivered it to Abrams. Boggs further contends that it was Abrams' decision to invest the $84,000 into Big Red and that he never considered this to be a business loan.
¶ 10. The dissent claims that Abrams, along with Boggs and Wall, is still obligated to repay the entire loan amount of $250,000 and since $166,000 was paid to Abrams, the remaining $84,000 belongs to all three parties. However, only two of the parties, Boggs and Wall, actually used the money. The $84,000 was placed in an account at Southbank. Boggs and Wall used this money to pay their salaries, pay their health insurance, and purchase supplies and inventory for the business. Additionally, Boggs maintained an office in the building. On the other hand, Abrams was not involved in the business. He did not receive a salary or write checks from the account. In short, Abrams received no financial benefit from the business. Because the remaining $84,000 was used solely by Boggs and Wall as operating capital, reasonable minds could differ as to whether the money was a business loan.
¶ 11. A directed verdict is not an appropriate means for disposition of a case so long as there are questions of fact raised by the evidence presented at trial. Illinois Cent. R.R. Co. v. White, 610 So.2d 308, 314 (Miss.1992). Questions of fact should be given to the jury. Id. In Claiborne v. Greer, 354 So.2d 1109, 1109 (Miss.1978), Claiborne sued Greer for personal injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. At trial, both Claiborne and Greer presented two entirely different versions as to how the collision occurred. Id. at 1110-11. At the conclusion of all evidence, Greer moved for a directed verdict, which was granted by the trial court. Id. at 1111. On appeal, the supreme court reversed and found that the trial court erred in granting Greer's motion for directed verdict since the conflicting evidence constituted a question of fact for the jury to decide. Id.
¶ 12. Here, like Claiborne, there is conflicting evidence and testimony. The promissory note did not state what the note was securing, a fact acknowledged by the dissent. Boggs argues that it was security for the purchase price of the business. Abrams argues that it was security for the operating capital. We find this to be a question of fact for the jury to decide. Thus, we reverse the trial court's decision to grant the motion for directed verdict and remand for further findings.
¶ 13. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ALCORN COUNTY GRANTING THE MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT IS REVERSED AND REMANDED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLEE.
KING, C.J., BRIDGES AND LEE, P.JJ., IRVING, MYERS, BARNES AND ISHEE, JJ., CONCUR. CHANDLER, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION.
. Although the remaining $10,000 of the Southbank loan was not accounted for in the trial testimony, it apparently was deposited into the bank account of Big Red, giving a total of $84,000 deposited into the Big Red business account.