Tea Party Rep: Bank Should Have Known I Wouldn't Be Able To Repay $2.2 Million Loan

[meegbear]

Source: TalkingPointsMemo.com

Tea Party aligned Georgia Rep. Tom Graves (R), who castigates Washington for fiscal irresponsibility, reached an out of court settlement Wednesday after he was sued for defaulting on a $2.2 million loan -- which his attorney argued is the bank's fault for lending him the money in the first place.

Graves and his business partner Chip Rogers -- who is the state Senate's Republican majority leader -- took out a $2.2 million loan from the Bartow County Bank in 2007 to buy and renovate a local motel. The project soon went belly-up.

The bank, which has since failed and had its assets taken over, sued Graves and Rogers for defaulting. The two Republicans then countersued, "accusing (the bank) of improperly declaring the loan in default after reneging on a promise to refinance it at more favorable terms," according to Jeremy Redmon and Aaron Gould Sheinin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In June, Simon Bloom, the attorney for Graves and Rogers, argued in a court filing that the default was the bank's fault because it lent the pair the money knowing full well they couldn't pay. Bloom cited a deposition in which bank officials saw Graves and Rogers' financial records, and then had them sign personal guarantees so they'd "'have some skin in the game' presumably meaning a sense of personal obligation for the debts ... even though they clearly could not fulfill the obligation." Graves and Rogers said they were unaware of that particular filing. The case was settled out of court on Wednesday, and a Graves spokesman called the case "fully resolved in an equitable and fair manner."

Read more: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/tea_party_rep_bank_should_have_known_i_wouldnt_be_able_to_repay_22_million_loan.php?ref=fpa

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The city says the abandoned site has become a nuisance, and estimates it would cost $100,000 of taxpayer money to tear it down.

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[RC]

1. Georgia Rep. Tom Graves (R) - Another reason to bring back Debtors Prison.

Pay it off at $30 a month.

[Hosnon]

3. That's an awful "solution". nt.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Reminds me of this song

How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/h/howcouldyoubelievemewhenisaidilovedyouwhenyouknowivebeenaliarallmylife.shtml

[gratuitous]

4. They were unaware they'd signed personal guarantees?

Tell me again about the irresponsibility of other people, Republicans. It's a shame the case got settled; I wonder if the Democrats in Georgia could possibly find a candidate to run against Mr. Graves?

[pnorman]

5. k&r

n/t

[Cool Logic]

6. Proving that predatory borrowing was just as big of a problem as

predatory lending.

[ljm2002]

7. Another Republican for "personal responsibility"...

...well, except when it would apply to him. Then it's predatory lenders who should never have loaned him the money in the first place. All those other people who got into trouble, though, they should just man up and accept their own personal responsibility: they should have read the fine print, they should not have overextended themselves, they should grit their teeth and find a way to pay that money back. To do otherwise would be immoral and is a sign of the decay of society, and Godless, relativist moral thinking. Yeppers.

[NC_Nurse]

8. WTF? I thought the R's were the ones all about "responsibilty". Pathetic.

what does he want? A nanny state for stupid people like HIM?

edited to add: sarcasm intended...

[LynneSin]

12. But they are the party of "responsibily" ...

because everyone else is responsible for all their problems!

[Blue_Tires]

14. My area has hundreds of defense contractors

and I haven't ever known a chamber of commerce RWer who DIDN'T absolutley love spending other peoples' money...It's like crak to them...

I still don't know how they keep that 'fiscal responsibility' label with a straight face.

[ashling]

9. These idiots should have to pay to tear it down

or maybe he can arrange for some stimulus money :sarcasm:

[pansypoo53219]

10. but the rest of the publikkklans rail on poor blacks who wanted a home.

fuck him. his wages should be garnisheed(he can live on 30k i am sure) til he pays it.

[WillyT]

11. K & R !!!

:kick:

[cayanne]

13. Tom Graves & Joe Walsh

Two of a kind- tea partiers both.