UNION BANK, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. ALBERT A. DORN et al., Defendants and Respondents, 254 Cal. App. 2d 157

Summary

Plaintiff bank brought an action for deficiency judgment against respondents as guarantors of a secured note after foreclosure of real property under power of sale. The note was executed by respondents, a medical center, a partnership in which each individual respondent was in effect a partner, and reflected moneys lent for interim construction, not for the purchase price. After demurrer, the lower court ordered a judgment of dismissal and plaintiff appealed. Cal Civ. Proc. Code § 580d prohibits a deficiency judgment after foreclosure of real property under a power of sale. The court affirmed the lower court's judgment because respondents, as supposed guarantors, were also principal obligors and were protected from a deficiency judgment under the code. It was settled that the liability as a guarantor added nothing to the primary liability of a principal obligor. Pursuant to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 2809, the obligation of a surety cannot be greater or more burdensome than that of the ...