AS 2014-11 5W LLC v. Kaplan Landlord, LLC

Under ORCP 47(C), summary judgment is only appropriate if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the non-moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. There are no genuine issues of material fact if, when viewing the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, no reasonable juror could return a verdict for the non-moving party on the matter of the summary judgment motion.

Bruce Wood and Glen Smith (“Guarantors”) appealed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of AS 2014-11 5W LLC (“Assignee”). Wood and Smith executed guaranty agreements on a $6.9 million commercial real estate loan, of which AS 2014-11 5W LLC was the assignee, holding the rights to the underlying promissory note and guaranties. When the Guarantors defaulted on the agreements, Assignee initiated this action. On appeal, Guarantors assign as error the trial court’s pre-trial grant of summary judgment in favor of the Assignee, and Guarantors argued, inter alia, that they were entitled to a trial as there were disputed material issues of fact. Under ORCP 47(C), summary judgment is only appropriate if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the non-moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. There are no genuine issues of material fact if, when viewing the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, no reasonable juror could return a verdict for the non-moving party on the matter of the summary judgment motion. The Court found there were no genuine issues of material fact, as the guaranties were unconditional and Guarantors’ affirmative defenses failed as a matter of law. Affirmed.