Stonemill Church, Inc., filed suit seeking, inter alia, to enjoin the foreclosure by RBC Bank USA Inc.1 on property held pursuant to a security deed as collateral to a loan by the Bank to Stonemill. The Bank successfully moved for summary judgment, and Stonemill now appeals, contending that issues of material fact remain as to whether Stonemill was in default, whether the Bank waived events of default, and whether the Bank wrongfully prevented tender of payment to release the subject property.2 For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.3 So viewed, the record shows that on April 17, 2006, Stonemill executed a $10,000,000 promissory note in favor of the Bank to finance the construction of a church building. The note required monthly payments of interest only, with a maturity date of April 17, 2008, when the outstanding principal and interest would become due. In connection with the note, Stonemill executed a security deed for the property. After construction began, Stonemill merged with Hamilton Mill Baptist Church and agreed to purchase that church’s property “Hamilton Mill Property”. To finance the purchase, Stonemill requested a draw from the Bank on its construction loan to pay the remaining $192,124.41 mortgage on the Hamilton Mill Property, and the Bank agreed in exchange for a security interest in the Hamilton Mill Property. Accordingly, the original loan documents were amended on December 20, 2006, to reflect the draw and add the Hamilton Mill Property to the collateral securing the note. The amendment also provided as follows: “So long as Borrower is not in default hereunder, or pursuant to the Note, Security Instrument or Loan Documents, and upon the payment or repayment of principal on the Note in the amount of $192,124.41, Lender shall release from the lien of the Security Instrument the Hamilton Mill Property.”
As the April 18, 2008 maturity date approached, Stonemill failed to fully pay the principal or interest on the note. The parties agreed to extend the maturity date to July 17, 2008, and again to August 31, 2008. The latter extension was memorialized in an August 29, 2008 letter from the Bank to Stonemill stating as follows: The loan “Loan” . . . matured on July 17, 2008 “Maturity Date”. On the Maturity Date, a final payment of the entire balance of principal, interest, fees, premiums, charges and costs and expenses then outstanding on the Loan was due and payable in full. The Borrower has requested that RBC Bank extend the Maturity Date for a period of 45 days, until August 31, 2008 “Extended Maturity Date”. By this letter, RBC Bank is extending the Maturity Date of the Loan to the Extended Maturity Date. Between the Maturity Date and the Extended Maturity Date, Borrower will continue to pay to RBC Bank monthly payments of principal and interest. The amount of the monthly payments will be the same as, or determined under the same terms and conditions as, the monthly payments required to be made by Borrower on the Loan prior to the Maturity Date. On the Extended Maturity Date, a final payment of the entire balance of principal, interest, fees, premiums, charges and costs and expenses then outstanding on the Loan will be due and payable in full by Borrower to RBC Bank, as provided in the . . . promissory note. Except for the extension of the Maturity Date and continuation of payments under the Loan as provided in the preceding paragraph of this letter, i the terms and conditions of the Loan remain unchanged and in full force and effect . . . . By granting Borrower the extension set forth in this letter, RBC Bank does not waive and is not waiving any of its rights and remedies under the Loan Documents or otherwise . . . Borrower and all other persons directly or indirectly liable to RBC Bank under any one or more of Loan Documents shall continue to remain liable to RBC Bank to the same extent as now set forth in the Loan Documents, as modified by the extension granted in this letter . . . . In August 2008, Stonemill entered into a contract to sell the Hamilton Mill Property for $2.8 million. The intended closing date was in September 2008, but it was postponed when the parties realized that the Bank still held a security interest in the Property.
