Appellate Div. (NY) Says Floorplan Lender Properly Debited Dealer Reserve

Upon our review of the record, we find that a fair interpretation of the evidence supports Supreme Court’s determination that the “dealer reserve account was properly debited for recourse delinquencies.” Notwithstanding that the recourse contracts were not produced at trial, the testimonial and documentary evidence credited by Supreme Court established that, during the relevant time period, Scotty’s did in fact enter into numerous recourse contracts, that Amidon was or should have been aware of such contracts and that, in addition to Amidon, two other corporate officers had unrestricted authorization to sign endorsements on behalf of the company.[FN3] We agree with Supreme Court that Amidon failed to prove that the signatures on the recourse contracts were forged or unauthorized. The evidence credited by Supreme Court further demonstrated that the dealer reserve account was set up so that Scotty’s would have money available for recourse payments and that CNB had the authority to make withdrawals from that account in the event of delinquencies in payment on the recourse contracts. Amidon failed to prove otherwise. Accordingly, as a fair interpretation of the evidence supports Supreme Court’s determination that CNB was justified in making withdrawals from the dealer reserve account to cover recourse delinquencies, we find no basis upon which to disturb Supreme Court’s dismissal of Amidon’s first and third counterclaims