Church Crop Insurance Services, Inc.
v.
GemCap Lending I, LLC
Appellee
Church Crop Insurance Services, Inc.
Appellant
GemCap Lending I, LLC
Attorney for the Appellee
Sarah K. Franklin and Sarah E. Crane (until withdrawal)
Attorney for the Appellant
Larry J. Brock
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson and Eliza J. Ovrom, Judges. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., Bower, J., and Carr, S.J. Opinion by Carr, S.J. (13 pages)
GemCap Lending I, LLC (GemCap) appeals the district court’s grant of declaratory judgment in favor of Church Crop Insurance Services, Inc. (Church Crop). The district court found Crop USA Insurance Agency, Inc. (Crop USA), as a debtor of GemCap, could not pledge as security funds representing commissions it owed to Church Crop. The court ordered the release of the disputed funds to Church Crop. OPINION HOLDS: Although we do not fault Church Crop for feeling proprietary about the funds, we think the relevant contracts and Article 9 jurisprudence compel a different result. We find Crop USA had rights in the disputed funds and could legally pledge the funds as security. Therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.