Denton v. First Interstate Bank of Commerce

¶1 Mark Denton (Denton) co-signed a $101,250.00 loan (Denton loan) that the First Interstate Bank (FIB or the Bank) issued to his friend Eric “Ole” Anderson. On his own, Anderson obtained a $260,000.00 Small Business Administration loan (SBA loan) from FIB at the same time. The purpose of both loans was to purchase logging equipment with which Anderson could start a business.

¶2 Anderson’s business failed and he declared bankruptcy. The Bank repossessed and sold the equipment and applied all of the proceeds to the SBA loan. Thereafter, it sought repayment of the Denton loan from Denton. Denton…