NC Appeals Court: Summary Judgment Improper In Suit On Defaulted Note Where Creditor Fails To Prove Merger With Predecessor Note Holder

A recent ruling from the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a lower court screw-up and said that the party suing on an allegedly defaulted promissory note was not entitled to summary judgment where the note was in the name of the original creditor, despite the fact that the suing party claimed that it had acquired the original creditor through merger.

On review of the lower court ruling, the appeals court pointed out that although the plaintiff argued that it now stands in the place of the original creditor on the note due to a merger between the two entities, neither the complaint nor any other documents in the record which were presented to the trial court revealed any evidence of a merger or explained why the party bringing suit named itself as plaintiff instead of its alleged predecessor.

For the ruling, see T.D. Bank, N.A. v. Mirabella, No. COA11-1178 (N.C. Ct. of App., March 20, 2012).