PIERCE, Justice, for the Court:
¶ 1. This appeal arises from an Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment and Final Judgment awarding LWC MS Properties, LLC ("LWC") a judgment against Melanie Bosarge ("Bosarge"). The trial court found that Bosarge was individually liable for the deficiency balance after foreclosure under the terms of a personal guaranty she executed in relation to a secured loan made to her company, Indian Head Station, LLC ("Indian Head"). On appeal, Bosarge contends a material issue of fact existed, inter alia, as to the value of the property securing the debt, that LWC should not have been permitted to maintain suit as a dissolved corporation, and that Bosarge should have been allowed to amend her pleadings and answer under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 15. This Court reverses and remands with respect to summary judgment, and finds the second and third issues should be addressed by the trial court upon remand.
¶ 2. On September 22, 2008, LWC, through its owner, Larry Cooper, obtained a balloon promissory note for $3,500,000 (plus interest) from Indian Head. Indian Head's owner and only member was Melanie Bosarge. The note was secured by a Deed of Trust for the Indian Head property, and was, in effect, a purchase-money transaction to buy the property and repair damage to the property's hotel from Hurricane Katrina. The note required Indian Head to make monthly interest payments and satisfaction of the entire unpaid amount at the note's maturation. Bosarge separately signed an individual continuing guaranty in favor of LWC that would make her personally liable for the unpaid amount in the event Indian Head defaulted.
¶ 3. The note and deed of trust contained the following relevant language:
The guaranty further contained a notice to Bosarge, which stated as follows:
¶ 4. LWC alleged Indian Head later defaulted by failing to pay the monthly interest payments.
¶ 5. After foreclosure, LWC resold the property for $1,200,000. Following the sale, LWC applied the October 2011 sale price to the amount it claimed Bosarge owed, thereby reducing the overall amount it sought from Bosarge to $2,300,000. Pursuant to the terms of the note, in addition to the overall indebtedness, Indian Head agreed to pay attorney's fees, plus costs, in the event it defaulted. Pursuant to the terms of the guaranty, Bosarge made herself individually liable for the indebtedness owed by Indian Head to LWC, including all costs of collection, court costs, and attorney's fees.
¶ 6. LWC filed a complaint alleging two counts against Bosarge. LWC alleged that Bosarge was indebted to LWC for $2,250,000, as the deficiency balance under the note. LWC further alleged that Bosarge had committed willful and malicious waste by removing certain fixtures from the foreclosed property, which LWC claims caused damage totaling $500,000. Additionally, LWC sought attorney's fees in the amount of $75,000 for a total judgment of $2,825,000, plus interest and costs.
¶ 7. Bosarge, appearing pro se, filed her answer and affirmative defenses, including an affidavit in which she maintained the $3,500,000 had never been transferred to Indian Head. After a lengthy discovery period, LWC filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and an accompanying memorandum brief. After retaining counsel, Bosarge filed an answer to LWC's brief, and Bosarge further moved for time to complete discovery, to obtain an appraisal, and to submit a formal answer to LWC's summary judgment motion. The court then entered an order holding LWC's summary judgment motion in abeyance. In doing so, the trial court allowed Bosarge an additional thirty days to complete discovery.
¶ 8. Bosarge subsequently filed a designation of expert, naming the appraiser, Kim Seaman, as her expert witness. Seaman performed an appraisal of the subject property, which was attached to the designation, showing an appraised value of $3,400,000 as of April 13, 2010. On the same date, Bosarge filed her supplemental response to LWC's Motion for Summary Judgment.
¶ 10. The trial court set LWC's Motion to Compel Discovery and Motion for Summary Judgment for June 6, 2013, by fiat. Afterward, Bosarge filed a Motion to Amend her original answer and a Motion to File Counterclaim. These motions were set to be heard at the June 6 hearing as well.
¶ 11. On June 6, 2013, the trial court granted LWC's Motion for Summary Judgment and ordered that a final judgment be entered. The court found that all other pending motions (LWC's motions to compel and Bosarge's motions to amend, file a counterclaim, and dismiss) were moot in light of the ruling on summary judgment. Thereafter, the trial court entered its Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment and Final Judgment, awarding LWC a judgment against Bosarge in the amount of $2,670,000, which included accrued interest until June 1, 2013, and interest thereafter at the rate of seven percent per annum going forward.
¶ 12. Subsequently, Bosarge timely filed her Notice of Appeal in this action, setting up the instant appeal. Bosarge raises three issues on appeal, but because the latter two issues were dismissed without consideration by the trial court after it granted summary judgment, this Court addresses only the first, regarding summary judgment. This issue is restated as follows:
¶ 13. Because we cannot discern whether Indian Head made interest payments, whether credit existed for principal reduction, and whether the court's order accounted for Bosarge's contention concerning the amount transferred from LWC to Indian Head, we find significant factual disputes exist as to the amount of indebtedness owed by Indian Head or Bosarge. In reversing summary judgment in light of
¶ 14. In reviewing a trial court's grant of a motion for summary judgment, this Court conducts a de novo review and "examines all the evidentiary matters before it — admissions in pleadings, answers to interrogatories, depositions, affidavits, etc." City of Jackson v. Sutton, 797 So.2d 977, 979 (Miss.2001). The moving party has the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and the nonmoving party must be given the benefit of the doubt concerning the existence of a material fact. Id. "If no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be entered in that party's favor." Monsanto Co. v. Hall, 912 So.2d 134, 136 (Miss. 2005). Additionally, this court reviews conclusions of law, including statutory interpretation, de novo. J. Criss Builder, Inc. v. White, 35 So.3d 541, 543 (Miss.Ct. App.2009). When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 56, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the pleadings, but instead the response must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. Miller v. Meeks, 762 So.2d 302, 304 (Miss.2000). If any triable issues of fact exist, the trial court's decision to grant summary judgment will be reversed. Id.
¶ 15. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of LWC after finding no material factual issue existed to preclude judgment. The order granting summary judgment is reproduced below, as follows:
(Emphasis added.) As iterated in the order, the court found the total amount owed was $2,670,000, and a final judgment against Bosarge was entered for $2,670,000.
¶ 16. Because we cannot confirm that the total indebtedness owed is, in fact, $3,500,000, this Court finds a material factual issue does exist, and that its existence precludes summary judgment.
¶ 17. Both LWC and Bosarge focus more on disputing the worth of the hotel foreclosed upon, despite the fact that Bosarge has consistently asserted she never received $3,500,000, and that she evidenced this contention in her December 2012 affidavit. We note that the gravitus of Bosarge's argument is her weak contention that she is not liable under the individual guaranty. Bosarge and her attorney rely on unsubstantiated assertions that, prior to Larry Cooper's death, Cooper told Bosarge he would never expect her to repay the money in the event that default occurred. And further, Bosarge, through her counsel, chalks up the guaranty to a formality and posits, somewhat vaguely, that the $3,500,000 amount was derived from an anticipated tax scheme to benefit to Cooper. In doing so, Bosarge attempts to use parol evidence to escape a legal obligation. Upon review of the promissory note to Indian Head and the guaranty signed by Bosarge, there is nothing to suggest that Bosarge would not be liable upon default, as the instruments appear to be properly executed, recorded, and acknowledged, and are thus valid and enforceable.
¶ 19. Because Bosarge's brief opposing summary judgment does present a genuine factual issue, specifically, how much money was transferred between LWC and Indian Head/Bosarge, this Court must reverse summary judgment. The trial court seems to take the signed promissory note and deed of trust at face value to mean that $3,500,000 was, in fact, exchanged, and does so without consideration of any payments Indian Head may have made. Again, there is little Bosarge can do to escape liability under the guaranty, but the guaranty is effective only insofar as a court can determine what she owes. As relayed earlier, the court can determine what Bosarge owes only by investigating the documents. This discrepancy was not reconciled in the record by the court or LWC, even though Bosarge raised doubt on the issue from the inception of this case. This factual question, that is the total indebtedness owed, is an issue to be determined by the jury. And the above issues should, upon consideration, preclude summary judgment.
¶ 20. Thus, we find there were clearly facts in dispute that precluded the trial court's grant of summary judgment. First, the amount received by Bosarge was disputed even before the Motion for Summary Judgment was made, and the credit given — as it is based solely upon LWC's alleged flawed appraisal — also creates a genuine issue of fact that must be submitted to a jury for determination. Accordingly, this Court reverses the trial court's order for summary judgment and remands with instructions to the trial court to resume the suit and consider the other motions pending at the time summary judgment was granted.
¶ 21. This Court reverses summary judgment, as material factual questions remain for determination by a jury; specifically, questions of fact exist regarding the value of the hotel, the reliability of the submitted appraisals, the amount of funds actually transferred to Bosarge or Indian Head, and the amount and number of any payments made pursuant to that loan. Although not addressed by this Court, the other claims raised in this appeal should be considered by the trial court upon remand.
¶ 22.
WALLER, C.J., DICKINSON AND RANDOLPH, P.JJ., LAMAR, KITCHENS, CHANDLER, KING AND COLEMAN, JJ., CONCUR.