State v. Mercer

OXBERGER, Chief Judge.

Ernest and Sherrie Mercer, husband and wife, operated a grocery store in Bedford, Iowa, from 1987 to 1989. To finance the purchase of fixtures and equipment for the store, the Mercers borrowed over $20,000 from each of two persons, Howard Coon and S.K. Mendenhall. Coon and Menden-hall held separate security interests in the fixtures and equipment.

In 1989 the Mercers encountered financial difficulties and closed the store. The Mercers decided to sell the fixtures and equipment subject to the security interests at auction. The victims, Coon and Menden-hall acquiesced in…