Carter's Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Franklin

428 So. 2d 808, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 7796
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 22, 1983
Docket15057
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 428 So. 2d 808 (Carter's Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Franklin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter's Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Franklin, 428 So. 2d 808, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 7796 (La. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

428 So.2d 808 (1982)

CARTER'S INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
v.
Arthur FRANKLIN, Sr., et ux.

No. 15057.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

October 12, 1982.
On Rehearing February 22, 1983.

*809 W. Hugh Sibley and Clifton T. Speed, Greensburg, for plaintiff-appellee.

Guy Huard and Don Juneau, Hammond, for defendants-appellants.

Before COVINGTON, LEAR and LANIER, JJ.

LANIER, Judge.

This is a suit by the guarantor on three promissory notes against the makers of the notes for indemnification for the amounts the guarantor was required to pay the holder. There was judgment in the trial court in favor of the guarantor and the makers took this devolutive appeal.[1]

I. FACTS

Carter's Insurance Agency, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Carter's) sold various insurance policies to Arthur and Yvonne Franklin during the period of November, 1975 to March of 1980. The Franklins had an open account with Carter's during this period on which various amounts were paid from time to time and upon which they did not pay interest or service charges. During this period, the Franklins secured six loans from the Bank of Greensburg and one from *810 Premium Finance and used the money secured thereby to make some of the payments on the Carter's account.

A. THE NOTE OF DECEMBER, 1976

Prior to December 3, 1976, the Franklins had a balance due on their account with Carter's of $33.00. On December 3, 1976, the Franklins added coverage of a '71 Chevrolet pickup truck to an existing automobile policy at a cost of $145.00. On that same date, Arthur Franklin executed a promissory note in favor of the Bank of Greensburg (hereinafter referred to as Bank) for $242.97 with 8% per annum interest from maturity and payable in 7 equal monthly installments of $34.71 each commencing January 5, 1977. Carter's endorsed this note as a guarantor. The Truth in Lending disclosure statement executed in connection with this loan shows that the amount financed was $231.00, the finance charge was $11.97 and the annual percentage interest was 14.45%. Franklin paid the $231.00 to Carter's on that same day. This resulted in a credit balance on his account of $53.00. On February 7, 1977, the Bank called on Carter's to pay the January and February 1977 installments due on the December 1976 note plus a late charge of $1.74 for a total of $71.16. Carter's charged these payments against the Franklins' account which resulted in a debit of $18.16. On February 12, 1977, the Franklins removed the '71 Chevrolet pickup truck from the automobile policy and were given a premium refund of $119.00. This refund was sent by the insurer to Carter's. Carter's applied this payment to the Franklins' account which left a credit balance of $100.84. On March 31, 1977, the Franklins renewed their homeowners policy for a premium of $189.00. This amount was debited to the Franklins' account and resulted in a balance due of $88.16. On April 5, 1977, the Bank called on Carter's to pay the March and April 1977 installments due on the December 1976 note plus a late charge of $1.74 for a total of $71.16. Carter's charged these payments against the Franklins' account which resulted in a balance due of $159.32. On April 11, 1977, Carter's was required by the Bank to pay $61.50 due on another Franklin note and this sum was charged to the Franklins' account. On April 13, 1977, Carter's received a credit of $36.45 for the Franklins' account from the Bank. On May 8, 1977, the Bank required Carter's to pay the balance due of $69.42 on the December 1976 note. On that same date, the Bank transmitted to Carter's a credit of $31.50 for the Franklins' account. These transactions left a balance due by the Franklins on their account with Carter's of $222.29 at that time.

B. THE NOTES OF MARCH AND MAY, 1979

Prior to February 26, 1979, the Franklins had a balance due on their account with Carter's of $195.61. On February 26, 1979, the Franklins secured automobile insurance on their '73 Mercury at a cost of $537.00. This amount was debited against their account by Carter's leaving a balance due of $732.61. On March 1, 1979, Yvonne Franklin executed a promissory note in favor of the Bank for $529.70 with 8% per annum interest from maturity and payable in 10 equal monthly installments of $52.97 each commencing April 1, 1979. Carter's endorsed this note as a guarantor. The Truth in Lending disclosure statement executed in connection with this loan shows that the amount financed was $488.80 and the finance charge was $40.90. On that same date, the Franklins paid the $488.80 to Carter's leaving a balance due on their account of $243.81. On March 12,1979, the Franklins paid $50.00 on their account directly to Carter's. On March 26, 1979, the Franklins paid $20.00 on their account directly to Carter's. On March 31, 1979, the Franklins renewed their homeowners policy at a premium of $261.00 increasing their balance due with Carter's to $434.81. On May 22, 1979, Yvonne Franklin executed a promissory note in favor of the Bank for $265.10 with 8% per annum interest from maturity and payable in 8 equal monthly installments of $33.14 each commencing June 15, 1979. Carter's endorsed this note as a guarantor. The Truth in Lending disclosure statement executed in connection with this loan shows that the amount financed *811 was $248.46 and the finance charge was $16.64. On that same date, the Franklins paid the $248.46 to Carter's leaving a balance due on their account of $186.35. On July 17, 1979, the Bank called on Carter's to pay the June and July 1979 installments due on the May 1979 note with a late charge of $1.66 for a total of $67.94. On August 10, 1979, the Franklins cancelled their homeowners policy and had a refund on their premium of $166.00. This refund was sent by the insurer to Carter's who applied it to the Franklins' account leaving a balance due of $88.29. On September 19, 1979, the Bank called on Carter's to pay the August and September 1979 installments due on the May 1979 note with a late charge of $1.66 for a total of $67.94. This increased the balance due on the Franklins' account to $154.23. On September 21,1979, the Bank made Carter's redeem the balance due on the May 1979 note of $132.54. On December 6, 1979, the Bank required Carter's to pay two past due installments on the March 1979 note with a late charge of $2.65 for a total of $108.59. On March 6, 1980, the Bank required Carter's to redeem the balance due on the March 1979 note of $58.27. The balance on the Franklin account with Carter's at that time was $455.63. At the trial, the Franklins produced a receipt dated December 3, 1976, for a payment in the sum of $30.00 which was made directly to Carter's, but which was not credited against their account. This reduced the final balance to $425.63.

II. CLAIM FOR THE DECEMBER 1976 NOTE

The trial court rendered judgment in favor of Carter's on the December 1976 note for $175.29, with 8% per annum interest thereon from August 5, 1977, until paid, together with an attorney fee of 25% of the principal and interest due. The Franklins assert that the premium refund of $119.00 made on their behalf to Carter's on February 12, 1977, should have been credited against the December 1976 note pursuant to the doctrine of mitigation of damages recognized in Unverzagt v. Young Builders, Inc., 252 La. 1091, 215 So.2d 823 (1968) and Lawyers Title Insurance Company v. Carey Hodges & Associates, Inc., 358 So.2d 964 (La.App. 1st Cir.1978).

The doctrine of imputation of payments, La.C.C. arts. 2163 et seq.,

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Bluebook (online)
428 So. 2d 808, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 7796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carters-ins-agency-inc-v-franklin-lactapp-1983.