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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON
July 19, 2011 Session

SECURAMERICA BUSINESS CREDIT  
v.
KARL SCHLEDWITZ and TERRY LYNCH

D irect A ppeal from the Circuit Court for Shelby C ounty
N o. C T-001803-07 Donna M . Fields, Judge

N o. W 2009-02571-CO A-R3-CV -Filed August 26, 2011
This is a guaranty case.  A ppellants personally guaranteed a line of credit for their trucking company. L ater, A ppellants sold the trucking company to tw o employees, but w ere not released by the A ppellee lender from their guaranties. U nder new ow nership, the company falsified borrowing documents so that more money was extended on the line of credit than w as collateralized per the loan agreement. This w as done with the complicity of the lender, but w ithout the knowledge of the guarantors. The debtor trucking company defaulted, and the lender sought repayment of the loan from the guarantors. Following a bench trial, the trial court found A ppellants liable for their personal guaranties, but denied prejudgment interest and punitive damages due to w hat the court characterized as the fraudulent actions of Appellee. In an apparent clerical mistake, on the same date that the trial court entered its final judgment, it also entered an order voluntarily dismissing all claims against Appellants. M ore than a year later, the trial court entered an order clarifying its prior order of dismissal. A fter a thorough review of the record, w e conclude that: (1) the trial court properly afforded A ppellee relief under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.01 to clarify its prior order of dismissal; and (2) the trial court made incomplete and contradictory findings of fact and conclusions of law, such that further appellate review is precluded. Consequently, we vacate and remand for additional findings.
Tenn. R . A pp. P. 3. A ppeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery C ourt Vacated and Remanded
J. STEVEN STAFFORD, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which A LAN E. HIGHERS, P.J., W .S., and D AVID R. FARMER, J., joined.
D avid J. Cocke, M emphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, K arl Schledwitz and Terry Lynch.
W .O. Luckett, Jr., Clarksdale, M S, and Lorrie K . Ridder, M emphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, SecurA merica Business Credit.
W ebb A . Brewer and Steven E. Barlow, M emphis, T N , for the Amicus Curiae, Tennessee Citizen Action A lliance, Inc.
Frank S. Cantrell, Bruce C. Harris, and Craig P. Barnes, M emphis, TN, for the A micus Curiae, M emphis Area Legal Services, Inc.
O PINIO N
I. Background Facts1
A ppellee SecurA merica Business Credit (

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Tennessee Law