Opinion ID: 1708804
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the misrepresentation claim

Text: Medley asserts the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on behalf of SouthTrust, on his counterclaim. That counterclaim was premised on allegations of fraud. Medley cites § 6-5-102 for the proposition that the suppression of a material fact is fraud, if the confidential relationship of the parties mandates disclosure of the material fact which was suppressed. He claims that SouthTrust, using its trust position in relation to him, breached its duty to make full disclosure, inducing him to sign the guaranty sued upon through concealment, misrepresentations, and suppression of material facts. The guaranty contract here contested was in writing and signed by Medley. The general rule of contract law is that when parties reduce their agreements to writing, the writing is the sole expositor of the transaction and the intention of the parties, in the absence of mistake or fraud or ambiguity. Gunnels v. Jimmerson, 331 So.2d 247, 250 (Ala.1976). See, also, Whitehead v. Johnston, 467 So.2d 240, 243 (Ala.1985); Sanders v. Sanders, 425 So.2d 476, 478 (Ala.Civ.App.1983). [O]ne who has executed a written contract in ignorance of its contents cannot set up that ignorance to avoid the obligation absent fraud or misrepresentation. Waldrep v. Nosrat, 426 So.2d 822, 824 (Ala.1983). See also, Gunnels v. Jimmerson, supra, at 250. Specifically, with regard to guaranty contracts, it has been held that the guarantor's claimed ignorance of the contents of a written guaranty contract executed by him in no way avoids his obligation thereunder in the absence of fraud or misrepresentation. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. v. Replex Corp., 401 So.2d 96, 98 (Ala.Civ.App.1981). Thus, Medley's claimed ignorance of the contents of the guaranty agreement will not excuse his obligation under the contract unless he can show fraud or misrepresentation. Medley contends that SouthTrust had a duty of disclosure because of a confidential relationship that existed between them. In Faith, Hope & Love, Inc. v. First Alabama Bank of Talladega Co., 496 So.2d 708 (Ala.1986), this Court restated the general principle that the relationship, between a bank and its customer is traditionally viewed as a creditor-debtor relationship which does not impose a fiduciary duty of disclosure on the bank. We also pointed out in Faith, Hope & Love, however, that a fiduciary duty may arise when the customer reposes trust in a bank and relies on the bank for financial advice, or in other special circumstances, quoting Baylor v. Jordan, 445 So.2d 254, 256 (Ala.1984); Bank of Red Bay v. King, 482 So.2d 274, 285 (Ala.1985); Brasher v. First National Bank of Birmingham, 232 Ala. 340, 344, 168 So. 42 (1936). Medley here argues that he falls within the exception to the general rule that there is no duty of disclosure on the part of the bank, because, he says, he had a close, confidential relationship with SouthTrust and regularly relied on the bank for business advice. Medley cites as authority Brasher v. First National Bank of Birmingham, supra . Brasher is distinguishable. That case involved a widow who had employed the bank to advise and assist her in the probate of her husband's will and in the management of his estate, and to advise and assist her in the management, conservation, protection, and investment of her individual funds. The defendant in Brasher failed to disclose to the plaintiff the contents of a consent decree rendered by the circuit court in receivership proceedings and wrongfully represented to her that it would be in her interest to agree to the consent decree. This resulted in the plaintiff's receiving participations in loans, with little or no market value, in lieu of $81,758.23 proceeds of insurance policies adjudged to be the property of the plaintiffto the plaintiff's hurt and the defendant's gain. The widow's status in relation to the bank and her dependence on the bank's expertise are not comparable with Medley's relationship with SouthTrust. In holding that a duty to communicate material facts may arise in a confidential relationship or in the presence of special circumstances, this Court has quoted, with approval, the following definition of confidential relationship: `[A relationship in which] one person occupies toward another such a position of adviser or counselor as reasonably to inspire confidence that he will act in good faith for the other's interests, or when one person has gained the confidence of another and purports to act or advise with the other's interest in mind; where trust and confidence are reposed by one person in another who, as a result, gains an influence or superiority over the other; and it appears when the circumstances make it certain the parties do not deal on equal terms, but, on the one side, there is an overmastering influence, or, on the other weakness, dependence, or trust, justifiably reposed; in both an unfair advantage is possible. It arises in cases in which confidence is reposed and accepted, or influence acquired, and in all the variety of relations in which dominion may be exercised by one person over another.' Holdbrooks v. Central Bank of Alabama, 435 So.2d 1250 (Ala.1983), quoting 15A C.J.S. Confidential (1967). Medley failed to give evidence of special circumstances or a confidential relationship in his dealings with SouthTrust. There is evidence that he had previous dealings with the bank and often dropped by to chat with various bank officials, but this is not enough to amount to a special relationship in this case. A suppression claim, based on Code 1975, § 6-5-102, requires that the party charging suppression prove that a material fact was suppressed. In a motion for summary judgment, once the movant has made a prima facie showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to show, by admissible evidence, the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Rule 56(e), A.R.Civ.P., Horner v. First National Bank of Mobile, 473 So.2d 1025, 1028 (Ala. 1985). The material fact here claimed to have been suppressed is the guaranty agreement itself, which, Medley acknowledges, has his signature on it. In reviewing a summary judgment, this Court looks to the same factors that the trial court initially considered in ruling on the motion. If there is any evidence presented to support the nonmoving party's position (here, Medley's) the summary judgment may not be granted. Chiniche v. Smith, 374 So.2d 872, 873 (Ala.1979). Reviewing the facts available to the trial court when the motion was presented, we conclude that Medley has presented no evidence in support of his claim of fraud.