Dove v. McCormick

698 So. 2d 585, 1997 WL 428518
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedAugust 1, 1997
Docket96-2397
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 698 So. 2d 585 (Dove v. McCormick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dove v. McCormick, 698 So. 2d 585, 1997 WL 428518 (Fla. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

698 So.2d 585 (1997)

Patricia W. DOVE, Appellant,
v.
John McCORMICK, Trustee, et al., Appellees.

No. 96-2397.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

August 1, 1997.
Rehearing Denied August 27, 1997.

*586 Robert K. Dwyer, Orlando, and James A. Bonfiglio, Boynton Beach, for Appellant.

Virginia B. Townes of Akerman, Senterfitt & Edison, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee John McCormick Trustee.

ANTOON, Judge.

In this mortgage foreclosure case, Patricia W. Dove (Dove) appeals the trial court's order granting final summary judgment in favor of John McCormick, Trustee. We affirm.

In June of 1986, Dove executed a mortgage in favor of The First, F.A., encumbering real property located in Orange County. The transaction was subject to the requirements of the federal Truth In Lending Act (TILA). See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1667 (1994); Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 226 (1995). Thereafter, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) declared The First to be a troubled institution and appointed the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) as receiver to liquidate The First's assets. In February of 1991, RTC assigned Dove's mortgage to Blazer Financial Services. Thereafter, in August of 1994, Blazer assigned Dove's mortgage to John McCormick. Within the month, McCormick sued to foreclose the mortgage because Dove had failed to make monthly payments. Dove filed an answer generally denying liability and asserting affirmative defenses of rescission and recoupment.

McCormick filed a motion for final summary judgment. In response, Dove filed an affidavit, alleging that she had never received "truth in lending" disclosures as required by Federal Reserve Regulation Z. The trial court entered final summary judgment of foreclosure in favor of McCormick, concluding that Dove's defenses pertaining to rescission and recoupment were barred by the statutes of limitations and repose. This appeal follows.

OVERVIEW OF TILA

Congress enacted TILA in order to protect unwary consumers from the deceptive practices of some lenders. Congress' purpose was

to assure a meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that the consumer will be able to compare more readily the various credit terms available to him and avoid the uninformed use of credit, and to protect the consumer against inaccurate and unfair credit billing and credit card practices.

15 U.S.C. § 1601(a)(1994). To this end, TILA requires that costs and fees be accurately and timely disclosed to consumers. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1638, 1602(u)(1994). When there has not been an accurate disclosure by the lender in consumer credit transactions, the act provides the consumer with the alternative remedies of rescission and civil liability damages. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1635, 1640 (1994).

With regard to the remedy of rescission, TILA provides the consumer the absolute right to rescind a contract within three days following the transaction without regard *587 to the accuracy of the disclosure. See 15 U.S.C. § 1635(a)(1994). This statutory remedy may be extended for up three years if the lender fails to comply with the statutory disclosure requirements. Specifically, TILA provides:

An obligor's right of rescission shall expire three years after the date of consummation of the transaction or upon the sale of the property, whichever occurs first, notwithstanding the fact that the information and forms required under this section or any other disclosures required under this part have not been delivered to the obligor,....

15 U.S.C. § 1635(f) (1994) (emphasis added); Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(a)(1994). Importantly, the timely exercise of this right of rescission results in the discharge of the consumer's liability for any security for the loan's collection, any finance or other charge, and any security interest given by the consumer. 15 U.S.C. § 1635(b). Consequently, if a consumer prevails on a rescission claim, the lender can only collect on the loan principal. Beach v. Great Western Bank, 692 So.2d 146, 148 (Fla.1997).

TILA also imposes civil liability on lenders who fail to comply with the statute's disclosure requirements. In this regard, section 1640 enables consumers to recover money damages from lenders for TILA violations:

(a) ... Any creditor who fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this part, including any requirement under section 1635 of this title, ... is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of-
(1) any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of the failure;
(2)(A)(i) in the case of an individual action twice the amount of any finance charge in connection with the transaction,..., except that the liability under this subparagraph shall not be less than $100 nor greater than $1,000.00; or
* * * * * *
(3) in the case of any successful action to enforce the foregoing liability or in any action in which a person is determined to have a right of rescission under section 1635 of this title, the costs of the action, together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.

15 U.S.C. § 1640(a)(1), (2)(A), (3) (1994). Any action for damages under section 1640 must be brought within one year of the violation. 15 U.S.C. § 1640(e) (1994).

Importantly, section 1640 also authorizes the consumer to utilize the defense of recoupment or set-off. Specifically, if the consumer, in his or her defense, can establish TILA violations, then he can recover money damages in recoupment. The damages available are the same as would have been available had the consumer initiated suit under the statute. 15 U.S.C. § 1640(e) (1994).

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE OF RESCISSION

In her first affirmative defense, Dove sought to assert her statutory right to rescission based upon alleged violations of TILA and Regulation Z. In so arguing, Dove requested rescission of the mortgage agreement, termination of any security interest in the property, actual damages, and attorney's fees pursuant to section 1640(a). However, Dove's right to rescind, along with its concomitant remedies, expired three years after the consummation of the loan transaction. This is so because, as our supreme court explained in Beach:

TILA mirrors a statute of repose rather than a statute of limitations ...

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Bluebook (online)
698 So. 2d 585, 1997 WL 428518, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dove-v-mccormick-fladistctapp-1997.