Case No. 22-0100

Primebank Inc. v. TeGrootenhuis

Primebank, Inc.,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs.

Willard TeGrootenhuis, as Trustee of the Willard TeGrootenhuis Revocable Trust Dated April 25, 2013, and Willard TeGrootenhuis Revocable Trust Dated April 25, 2013, 

Defendants-Appellants.

Attorney for Appellants

Richard H. Moeller

Attorney for Appellee

Scott C. Sandberg and Joshua C. Dickinson

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Sioux County, Jeffrey L. Poulson, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART.  Heard by Bower, C.J., Badding, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (28 pages)

            The Willard TeGrootenhuis Revocable Trust dated April 15, 2013 (the Trust) appeals the foreclosure decree, asks us to interpret the language of a mortgage it gave to Primebank Inc. (Primebank) to secure the debt of the trustee’s son, Scott TeGrootenhuis.  More specifically, the Trust asks us to set the order the sale proceeds are applied to the various defendants’ outstanding debts; it also challenges the ruling Primebank can recover attorney fees from the Trust.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no ambiguity in the relevant mortgage provisions, we agree with the district court that the contract should be applied as written.  We affirm in part and reverse in part the district court’s ruling regarding Primebank’s right to recover attorney fees from the Trust.