Contract; Foreclosure and Property

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: PNC Bank, National Association v. Samuel G. Boytor

Case No.: 23-2108

Officials: Wood,* Lee, and Pryor, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Contract; Foreclosure and Property

Samuel Boytor, an engineer and businessman, and his wife Carol defaulted on loans they had personally guaranteed. They reached a settlement with EFS Bank’s successor, restructuring their debt into three new promissory notes secured by mortgages on their properties. When PNC Bank eventually acquired these notes, it filed a complaint in 2018 against the Boytors for defaulting on two of the notes. PNC sought foreclosure on the Boytors’ residential property and a monetary judgment for nonpayment of the remaining note.

The Northern District of Illinois conducted a bench trial and ordered foreclosure on the Boytors’ residential property and issued a deficiency judgment following the sale of the property. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit found that PNC had established a prima facie case for foreclosure by presenting the mortgage and the underlying note. The court rejected the Boytors’ affirmative defenses, including claims of lack of consideration and payment of the notes. It determined that the $203,000 note was validly supported by consideration and that the Boytors had not made payments on it. The court also found that the $200,000 note remained unpaid, and the release of the mortgage did not nullify the underlying debt. Additionally, the court dismissed the Boytors’ argument of accord and satisfaction, finding no evidence of any new arrangement to settle the debt for less than the full amount owed.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/16/24

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