Court Denies Appeal in Developer’s Lawsuit
by March 15, 2012 2:33 pm 190 views
The Arkansas Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s ruling against Fayetteville developer Tom Terminella in his lawsuit stemming from a property foreclosure by Metropolitan National Bank.
On Thursday, the justices upheld Washington County Circuit Judge Kim Smith’s order granting motions to dismiss Terminella’s suit and to file sanctions against him and his attorney, Robert Ginnaven.
The sanctions stem from MNB’s argument that the statute of limitations barred Terminella and Grand Valley from making claims against the bank alleging tortious interference and negligence.
The case reached the state Supreme Court after years of litigation related to a $9.63 million loan MNB made to Terminella and Grand Valley Ridge LLC to fund completion of the Grand Valley Ridge subdivision in Springdale. A failure to work out arrangements to pay interest on the loan resulted in MNB filing a foreclosure petition in May 2007, according to court documents.
MNB claimed the loan was in default. Terminella and Grand Valley denied the claim, and filed a counterclaim alleging MNB had breached their contract.
The suit has wound its way through the courts ever since, with numerous appeals, complaints and additional claims.
During litigation, MNB entered into an agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in which the bank “admitted it had engaged in unsound banking practices for loaning too much money without sufficient capital reserves, particularly in Northwest Arkansas,” the ruling states.