The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment seeking remedies under a mortgage relating to a motel business, alleging the mortgagor breached a restriction on transferring interests by entering into a trust agreement transferring shares to a new spouse.
The defendants argued the trust agreement did not constitute a default, that it was signed under duress, and that the plaintiff knew of and consented to it.
Additional issues arose concerning whether the mortgage provision restricting transfers to a new spouse was contrary to public policy and whether the interest waiver clause constituted an unenforceable penalty.
The court held that the dispute involved significant factual and credibility issues, including duress, consent, and the surrounding context of the agreements.
As these issues required assessment of witness credibility and the broader factual matrix, summary judgment was inappropriate.
