DALIANIS, C.J.
The respondents, Shared Towers VA, LLC (Shared Towers) and NH Note Investment, LLC (NH Note), have appealed, and the petitioner, Joseph W. Turner, individually and as trustee of the Routes 3 and 25 Nominee Trust, has cross-appealed, orders of the Superior Court (O'Neill, J.) following a bench trial on the petitioner's petition for a preliminary injunction enjoining a foreclosure sale and for damages and reasonable attorney's fees. The parties' dispute centers around a commercial construction loan agreement and promissory note secured by a mortgage, pursuant to which the petitioner was loaned $450,000 at 13% interest per annum to
The trial court found, or the record establishes, the following facts. The petitioner owns property on Marks Island in Gilford and, in 2009, sought financing to construct a home on one of his lots. Because the home was to be constructed on an island, he was unable to obtain a construction loan with conventional financing. Financial Resources Mortgage, Inc. (FRM) procured a construction loan for the petitioner from Mark Butler, a private lender. On April 9, 2009, the petitioner and Butler executed: (1) a commercial construction loan agreement; (2) a promissory note; (3) a mortgage security agreement and assignment; and (4) a collateral assignment of rents and leases. Under the loan agreement, Butler agreed to loan the petitioner $450,000 as "a bridge loan to facilitate the completion of construction" of the home. The agreement required the petitioner to "pay [Butler] in monthly installments on interest only on the total amount of funds loaned." The loan was secured by the mortgage and the collateral assignment of rents and leases. The promissory note required the petitioner to repay the loan in full, with 13% interest, in one year. The note obligated him to pay Butler "interest only in Twelve (12) consecutive monthly payments of $4,875.00 each." The first payment was due on June 1, 2009. The final payment, consisting of all principal, accrued interest, and charges, was due May 1, 2010. The note provided that if the petitioner defaulted on the payment of interest and principal due under the note, and failed to cure the default within a specified period of time, "the entire unpaid balance of principal and interest shall, at the option of the Holder, become due and payable at once without demand or notice."
The mortgage and note associated with the loan were assigned three times. They were first assigned in May 2009 by Butler to Dodge Financial, Inc., the then-trustee of BD 2009 Realty Trust. In November 2009, Kamal Doshi, another trustee of BD 2009 Realty Trust, assigned the mortgage and note to Shared Towers. Finally, in June 2011, Shared Towers assigned the mortgage and note to NH Note.
From April to October 2009, the petitioner made payments consistent with the terms of the loan agreement and note. He stopped making payments in November 2009. In December 2009, the petitioner received a letter from the trustee appointed in the involuntary bankruptcy of FRM, which stated, in pertinent part:
A few weeks later, the petitioner received another letter from the trustee enclosing a bankruptcy court order. This letter stated, in pertinent part: "If you have borrowed money from FRM ... or from any trust or entity affiliated or related to FRM..., the Order requires that you make all monthly payments, all payments of principal, and all principal payoffs to" the bankruptcy trustee. However, having also received demands from Butler and Doshi, the petitioner did not make any payments.
In April 2011, a settlement was reached among Butler, Doshi, Shared Towers, and the bankruptcy trustee (who was also the bankruptcy trustee for Dodge Financial, Inc. and BD 2009 Realty Trust), pursuant to which, Doshi, on behalf of Shared Towers and NH Note, took ownership of the petitioner's loan, mortgage, and promissory note.
On April 27, 2011, Shared Towers notified the petitioner that it was now the holder of the loan and the debt and that the petitioner was in default of his obligations thereunder. Shared Towers informed the petitioner that the note had matured on May 1, 2010, and that pursuant to the note, he owed: (1) $450,000 in principal; (2) $92,625 in interest; and (3) $24,206.25 in delinquency charges, which included a $22,500 charge for late payment of the lump sum principal amount. Shared Towers notified the petitioner that if he failed to pay those amounts on or before May 1, 2011, Shared Towers would "pursue all of its rights and remedies" under the loan documents, including, but not limited to, commencing foreclosure proceedings under the mortgage. To defer the foreclosure sale, the petitioner paid Shared Towers $15,000. The petitioner instituted the instant action in July 2011.
In July 2011, the trial court held a hearing on offers of proof on the petitioner's request for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the foreclosure sale. At the hearing, the petitioner "conceded that the principal amount ... which [he] legitimately owe[s] is $450,000.00." However, he disputed "interest charges, late fees and attorney fees which have added approximately $100,000 to the debt." The trial court ordered the petitioner to pay the $450,000 and ordered the respondents not to foreclose on the property until further court order. In response to the respondents' motion for clarification and/or reconsideration, the trial court clarified that the $450,000 payment "shall be applied only as determined at the final hearing in this matter." Thereafter, in addition to remitting the $450,000 principal to the respondents, the petitioner paid $34,125 in interest payments from an escrow account.
The trial court conducted a bench trial on the petitioner's remaining claims for relief. The court first decided that the respondents were not entitled to a delinquency charge on the petitioner's late payment
The trial court ordered the parties to "provide ... their respective computations of total amounts paid to date and outstanding amounts due consistent with the [court's] findings." The respondents argued that the petitioner owed four months of interest payments and the corresponding 5% penalty on each such payment, for a total of $19,500 in interest payments and $975 in penalty payments. They also argued that they were entitled to $77,836 in defense costs, including legal fees. The petitioner conceded that he owed three months of interest payments and two 5% penalty payments, for a total of $14,625 in interest payments and $487.50 in penalties. The petitioner argued that, after subtracting the $15,000 he paid to defer the foreclosure, he owed the respondents a total of $112.50. Based upon the parties' computations, the trial court determined that the petitioner owed interest and a 5% penalty for a portion of April 2011, and all of May, June, and July 2011, for a total of $16,891.88. The court subtracted from this amount the $15,000 the petitioner paid to defer the foreclosure, and, thus, ordered him to pay the respondents $1,891.88. The trial court denied the respondents' claim for attorney's fees and costs. This appeal and cross-appeal followed.
The respondents first argue that the trial court erred when it found that they would be unjustly enriched if the petitioner were required to pay "amounts that came due during the time that ownership of the loan was in dispute." "The propriety of affording equitable relief in a particular case rests in the sound discretion of the trial court." Axenics, Inc. v. Turner Constr. Co., 164 N.H. 659, 669, 62 A.3d 754 (2013) (quotation omitted). Consequently, we review a trial court's equitable determination for an unsustainable exercise of discretion. Id. "Although the award of equitable relief is within the sound discretion of the trial court, that discretion must be exercised, not in opposition to, but in accordance with, established principles of law." Id. (quotation omitted).
The respondents argue that unjust enrichment is not available as a remedy here because the underlying loan agreement and promissory note "controlled and remained in full force and effect." (Capitalization and bolding omitted.) They are correct. Unjust enrichment is an equitable remedy that is available when an individual receives "a benefit which would be unconscionable
Here, the dispute over the ownership of the loan agreement and promissory note did not eliminate the petitioner's obligations under them. Under the loan agreement and promissory note, the petitioner was required to pay $4,875 monthly. There was never a dispute regarding the petitioner's obligation to make those payments; the dispute was about to whom the payments should be made. Under those circumstances, contrary to the trial court's decision, the petitioner's obligation to make the payments was not tolled. Because the loan agreement and note remained viable, it was error for the trial court to have afforded the petitioner a remedy under an unjust enrichment theory.
The petitioner argues that he was entitled to such a remedy because "there is no language in the loan agreement which in any way addresses the series of events that led to [his] unjust enrichment claim here." He asserts that neither the loan agreement nor the promissory note directed "the parties on the appropriate behavior when the loan was, for all intents and purposes, simply frozen for a period of eighteen months, when not two, but three different parties were fighting over ownership of the Note and demanding payments, and where the borrower, attempting to get out of the exceptionally high interest rate associated with this bridge loan, simply was unable to obtain conventional financing." Thus, he reasons, this case fits within an exception to the general rule that one may not recover under an unjust enrichment theory when there is a valid contract in place that pertains to the same subject matter. See id. at 669-70, 62 A.3d 754. Here, he argues, "there was no agreement in place" during the time in which ownership of the loan and note were in dispute, "and thus, no basis for [the] respondents' demanded retroactive interest, among other charges and penalties." Under those circumstances, he asserts, the respondents' demands "were outside the scope of the agreement," which makes unjust enrichment an available remedy.
The exception to which the petitioner refers allows contracting parties to recover under an unjust enrichment theory when "the benefit received is outside the scope of the contract." Id. at 670, 62 A.3d 754. Here, to the contrary, the benefit the petitioner received — use of the money loaned to him under the loan agreement — is the very subject of the loan agreement. Similarly, the benefit the respondents were entitled to receive — the petitioner's interest-only payments — is the very subject of the promissory note. The fact that the loan agreement and promissory note
The respondents next argue that the trial court erred when it applied the petitioner's payment of $450,000 to principal instead of to interest. They contend that the court's determination is contrary to the promissory note, which provides that "[a]ll payments ... shall be applied first to charges and/or fees, if any, then to accrued interest ..., then to principal." The petitioner counters that the respondents' argument is "illogical given the circumstances under which the preliminary injunction order was entered and payment made."
The trial court made its decision with regard to the payment of $450,000 in connection with its conclusion that the petitioner was entitled to a remedy under an unjust enrichment theory. Because we cannot determine how the trial court would have ruled upon this issue had it not considered relief under that equitable theory, and because, given the nature of the parties' arguments, resolving this issue requires fact finding that must be done by the trial court in the first instance, we vacate this part of its order and remand for further proceedings. On remand, the trial court shall consider the merits of the respondents' assertion that the promissory note, in fact, required that the payment be applied first to charges and/or fees or accrued interest before being applied to principal.
The respondents next contend that the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of the petitioner's experience with similar loans. On the first day of trial, the respondents asked the court to review the petitioner's responses to their requests for admission and to rule upon the validity of his objections thereto. The petitioner objected to several requests on relevancy grounds, and the court upheld those objections. The respondents argue that in so doing, the trial court erred. However, the respondents have not provided either their requests for admission or the petitioner's responses as part of the record on appeal. It is the burden of the respondents, as the parties appealing the trial court's decision on this issue, to provide a sufficient record. See Bean v. Red Oak Prop. Mgmt., 151 N.H. 248, 250, 855 A.2d 564 (2004); see also Sup.Ct. R. 13. Absent the requests for admission and the petitioner's responses, we must assume that the record supports the trial court's determination that the requests at issue sought irrelevant information. See Bean, 151 N.H. at 250, 855 A.2d 564.
The respondents next argue that the trial court erroneously precluded them from recovering a 5% delinquency charge on the petitioner's late lump sum payment of principal because that charge was not disclosed properly within the meaning of RSA 399-B:2. RSA 399-B:2 provides:
"`Finance charges' includes charges such as interest, fees, service charges, discounts, and other charges associated with the extension of credit." RSA 399-B:1, II (2006).
The loan agreement provided that in the event that the petitioner defaulted, the lender could "impose ... a delinquency charge as set forth in the Note." The note stated that the lender could impose "a delinquency charge at the rate of Five percent (5%) on each installment of principal and/or interest not paid on or before fifteen (15) calendar days after such installment is due." The petitioner also received a "STATEMENT OF FINANCE CHARGES[:] NEW HAMPSHIRE RSA 399-B" (emphasis omitted), which provided, in pertinent part:
The respondents first argue that the trial court erred by determining that the delinquency charge constituted a "finance charge" within the meaning of RSA 399-B:1, II. "We are the final arbiter
Here, we agree with the trial court that the delinquency charge is a "finance charge" within the meaning of RSA 399-B:1, II because it is a "charge" associated with the respondents' "extension of credit" to the petitioner. RSA 399-B:1, II. The respondents assert that because such a charge on the petitioner's lump sum payment would be incurred only "after the loan was scheduled to be repaid," it is not a "finance charge" that had to be disclosed. We are not persuaded. See DeCato Brothers, Inc. v. Westinghouse Credit Corp., 129 N.H. 504, 508-09, 529 A.2d 952 (1987) (holding that a prepayment penalty constituted a finance charge within the meaning of RSA 399-B:1, II, and that the failure to disclose such a penalty in a clear statement in writing violated RSA 399-B:2).
Alternatively, the respondents argue that the promissory note and statement of finance charges satisfied RSA 399-B:2 with regard to imposing a delinquency charge on the petitioner's lump sum payment of principal. We disagree. As the trial court observed, "[c]onflicting disclosures cannot satisfy RSA 399-B:2's stated requirement of providing `a clear statement' because conflicting information is by its very nature unclear." Here, the information provided to the petitioner made clear that the delinquency charge would apply to his monthly interest-only payments. However, that information did not make clear that the charge would also apply to his lump sum payment of principal. Accordingly, the trial court did not err when it allowed the respondents to recover a 5% penalty on delinquent interest payments, but precluded them from recovering a 5% penalty on the delinquent lump sum payment of principal.
Finally, the respondents argue that the trial court erroneously disallowed recovery of their reasonable attorney's fees and costs. After the bench trial, the trial court ordered the parties to "provide ... their respective computations of total amounts paid to date and outstanding amounts due." In complying with that order, the respondents included their reasonable attorney's fees and costs in their "computation of ... outstanding amounts due." Specifically, they sought $77,836 in fees and costs associated with defending against the petitioner's action and $25,945 in fees and costs associated with their collection and foreclosure action.
The trial court ruled that the respondents were not entitled to recover any of their fees and costs. The court first decided that the respondents had not established a basis for recovery of fees and costs. The court rejected their assertion that section 14.3 of the loan agreement allowed them to recover their fees and costs. The court concluded that this provision did not apply because "[t]his was not a collection action commenced by the respondents," but rather was a petition for
The respondents first assert that the trial court erred when it impliedly ruled that section 14.3 of the loan agreement did not allow them to recover the fees and costs incurred in the foreclosure action. "An award of attorney's fees must be grounded upon statutory authorization, a court rule, an agreement between the parties, or an established exception to the rule that each party is responsible for paying his or her own counsel fees." In the Matter of Hampers & Hampers, 154 N.H. 275, 289, 911 A.2d 14 (2006) (quotation omitted). We review the trial court's interpretation of section 14.3 of the loan agreement de novo, giving the language used by the parties its reasonable meaning. See In the Matter of Liquidation of Home Ins. Co., 157 N.H. 543, 546, 953 A.2d 443 (2008). We review the trial court's actual award of attorney's fees under our unsustainable exercise of discretion standard. Id. at 290, 911 A.2d 14.
Section 14.3 of the loan agreement provides: "Borrower shall pay all costs, expenses, charges, including attorney's fees, incidental to or relating to the Loan and to the collection thereof and to the foreclosure of the Loan Documents ...." The fees and costs that the respondents incurred in bringing their foreclosure action are expressly encompassed in this provision. Accordingly, the trial court unsustainably exercised its discretion by ruling that those fees and costs were not recoverable pursuant to section 14.3 of the loan agreement.
The respondents next argue that the trial court erred when it determined that section 14.3 does not allow them to recover their attorney's fees and costs incurred in the instant proceeding initiated by the petitioner. The trial court interpreted this provision to allow the respondents to recover their attorney's fees and costs only in a collection proceeding and/or foreclosure action that they initiated. However, the plain meaning of the provision allows the respondents to recover their attorney's fees and costs in any action that is "incidental to or relating to the Loan and to the collection thereof and to the foreclosure of the Loan Documents." (Emphasis added.)
The instant proceeding, although initiated by the petitioner, relates to the loan and its collection and to the respondents' foreclosure action. The petitioner's petition sought: (1) a declaration regarding whether he owed the amounts the respondents claimed he owed on the loan; (2) a declaration regarding whether the respondents had the right to foreclose on the property; (3) a declaration regarding whether the loan agreement was valid; (4) disgorgement of "all applicable interest[], costs, and attorneys' fees" the respondents "unjustly obtained and unconscionably retained" pursuant to the loan agreement and promissory note; and (5) damages for the respondents' allegedly unlawful conduct in brokering the loan. Because the petition relates to the loan and its collection and to the respondents' foreclosure action, section 14.3 of the loan agreement entitles the respondents to recover the reasonable attorney's fees and costs they
The respondents next contend that the trial court erred when it concluded that they had failed to demonstrate that the fees and costs they incurred were reasonable. The trial court found "several penalties on late interest payments" were included in the $77,836 the respondents claimed for fees and costs incurred in the instant proceeding. Our review of the record on appeal does not support this finding. Accordingly, we cannot uphold it.
In light of the trial court's errors with regard to the attorney's fees and costs claimed by the respondents, we vacate its order denying them, and remand for it to reconsider the respondents' request for fees and costs. On remand, the court may hold such further proceedings upon the respondents' request as it may deem necessary, consistent with this opinion.
The petitioner cross-appeals the trial court's determination that the respondents' conduct did not violate the CPA. The petitioner argues that the respondents violated the CPA because, despite competing claims of ownership, they demanded that he make payments under the promissory note and initiated a collection and foreclosure action. The petitioner further asserts that the respondents acted unfairly because they rejected his offer to settle the matter and insisted that he pay what he owed under the loan agreement and promissory note. The trial court rejected these arguments.
We will uphold the trial court's findings of fact and rulings of law unless they lack evidentiary support or constitute a clear error of law. Axenics, 164 N.H. at 675, 62 A.3d 754. Under RSA 358-A:2, "[i]t shall be unlawful for any person to use any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of any trade or commerce within this state." We have previously recognized that, although this provision is broadly worded, not all conduct in the course of trade or commerce falls within its scope. Id. "An ordinary breach of contract claim, for example, is not a violation of the CPA." Id. (quotation omitted). In determining which commercial actions not specifically delineated are covered by the CPA, we have employed the "rascality" test. Id. Under the rascality test, "the objectionable conduct must attain a level of rascality that would raise an eyebrow of someone inured to the rough and tumble of the world of commerce." Id. at 675-76, 62 A.3d 754 (quotation omitted).
Here, we agree that the respondents did not violate the CPA by: (1) requiring the petitioner to honor his obligations under the loan agreement and promissory note; (2) enforcing their rights under those documents by initiating a collection and foreclosure action upon his default; and (3) rejecting his offer of compromise. These actions do not, as a matter of law, "raise an eyebrow of someone inured to the rough and tumble of the world of commerce." Id. (quotation omitted). Accordingly, we find no error in the trial court's rejection of the petitioner's CPA claim.
For all of the reasons we have discussed, we affirm the trial court's: (1) exclusion of evidence of the petitioner's experience with
Affirmed in part; reversed in part; vacated in part; and remanded.
HICKS, CONBOY, LYNN, and BASSETT, JJ., concurred.