Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Co. v. First United Bank & Trust Co.
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
278 P.3d 12 (2012)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
In 2007, before beginning construction on their new house, Donald and Linda Williams (defendants) took out a construction-mortgage loan from First United Bank & Trust Company (bank) (defendant). Once construction began, Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Company (Mill Creek) (plaintiff) furnished building materials for the project. In 2008, following construction, the Williamses refinanced and replaced the construction loan by executing two new mortgages. The bank took the replacement mortgages and released the construction mortgage. A few months later, because the Williamses had not fully paid for the building materials, Mill Creek (1) perfected a materialman’s lien against the Williamses’ property, (2) sued the Williamses to enforce the lien, and (3) asserted that the bank had constructive notice of Mill Creek’s lien as of the date Mill Creek first delivered its building materials. All three measures were valid and timely under the generous provisions of Oklahoma’s materialman’s-lien statute. The trial court granted summary judgment for Mill Creek. The bank appealed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. The bank argued that the building materials Mill Creek supplied became fixtures and that Mill Creek’s lien was a security interest in fixtures and therefore subordinate to a preexisting construction mortgage.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Thornbrugh, J.)
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