A Refresher On Summary Judgment Evidence For Banks, Lessors, And Others Who Sue On Accounts

The Dallas Court of Appeals offers another good reminder on the requirements for summary judgment evidence in National Health Resources Corp. v. TBF Financial,¹ decided on March 27.

The background of the case shows how presenting personal knowledge of a business account can sometimes be difficult: NHRC, the defendant, originally leased its copier from Konica. Konica sold the lease to CIT, which sold it to TBF. When NHRC defaulted, TBF sued and was granted summary judgment based on an affidavit from a manager at TBF. NHRC challenged TBF's summary judgment evidence, primarily complaining about the affiant's personal knowledge of the contractual relationship and account history. (One can see how this same issue might arise in a lender-borrower or landlord-tenant dispute when the plaintiff is an assignee of the original obligation.)