Bank Can Seek Immediate Relief to Remove Commercial Property Owner

In Alstep, Inc. v. State Bank & Trust Co., Case No. S13A0117 (Ga., July 1, 2013), an opinion issued today, the Georgia Supreme Court addressed circumstances in which a commercial gas station owner refused to vacate the business after the bank foreclosed on the property.   The court also upheld the appointment of a receiver and the issuance of an immediate injunction to restrain the property owners.   The case stands for the proposition that a bank can move for the appointment of receiver to avoid waste and conversion of the property and incomes from the business.

In addition, the court held that the bank could also execute its rights to collect on the loan secured by the foreclosed gas station on other property that the bank had taken as collateral.   The court held the bank was required to seek a deficiency on the loan collection -- the negative difference between the property value and the loan amount -- within thirty (30) days of the foreclosure, but this did not prevent the bank from foreclosing on other property that also stood as collateral for the loan.