Opinion ID: 1657369
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Elements of Plaintiffs' Cases

Text: To recover on a contract of guaranty, the creditor must show (1) that the defendant executed the guaranty, (2) that the defendant unconditionally delivered the guaranty to the creditor, (3) that the creditor, in reliance on the guaranty, thereafter extended credit to the debtor, and (4) that there is currently due and owing some sum of money from the debtor to the creditor that the guaranty purports to cover. Linwood State Bank v. Lientz, 413 S.W.2d 248, 256 (Mo.1967). Evert admits signing the May 20, 1987 guaranty to ITT and the January, 1986 guaranty to Mercantile. ITT and Mercantile supported their motion with Evert's deposition containing these admissions and with affidavits of their officers to the same effect. These same sources establish unconditional delivery of the guaranties. Through the affidavits of their officers, ITT and Mercantile have shown that they extended credit to Mid-America after the date of each of these guaranties and that they did so in reliance upon Evert's guaranty. Additionally, Evert's deposition testimony clearly shows that he understood that ITT and Mercantile intended to rely upon his guaranty, and, if they did not execute them, they would extend no further credit to Mid-America. Finally, ITT and Mercantile established the extent of the outstanding debt owed by Mid-America, including applicable interest and expenses. On our review of the record before us, we hold that ITT and Mercantile established that there is no genuine dispute as to the four elements of their claims.