Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Esposito

8 Misc. 3d 230
CourtSuffolk County District Court
DecidedApril 18, 2005
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Misc. 3d 230 (Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Esposito) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Suffolk County District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Esposito, 8 Misc. 3d 230 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

[231]*231OPINION OF THE COURT

C. Stephen Hackeling, J.

Ford Motor Credit Company’s complaint, dated June 9, 2004, demands judgment in the sum of $12,216.40 as against the defendant, Evan Esposito, for a default in a motor vehicle lease which resulted in a repossession of the vehicle and its eventual auction sale. The defendant has interposed an answer, dated January 10, 2005, asserting a general denial which was amplified at trial to include an affirmative defense that he did not receive adequate notice of the foreclosure sale. The trial of the matter was conducted on March 7, 2005.

The Undisputed Facts

The relevant undisputed facts established are:

1. The defendant entered into a “motor vehicle lease agreement” (hereafter the lease) dated September 14, 2001 to acquire a 2004 truck with Ramp Ford, who assigned its interest to its financier, Ford Motor Credit Company.

2. The subject motor vehicle was in an accident sometime in October of 2002.

3. At the time of the accident the defendant was in default of his lease (clause No. 21) which required him to maintain comprehensive collision insurance on the vehicle.

4. Clause No. 20 of the subject lease makes the defendant responsible for all nonnormal wear and tear damage to the vehicle. Ford expended $1,370.70 for damage repair and reconditioning of the vehicle prior to sale.

5. The defendant’s lease has a general “anytime option” to purchase the vehicle in clause No. 26. The defendant did not exercise this option.

6. Ford repossessed the subject vehicle on October 25, 2002 from a collision repair shop and sent the defendant a notice to an address in Florida which stated:

“Personal Property Notice — You are hereby notified that the above described motor vehicle was repossessed and we are holding the personal property that was found in the vehicle. The personal property may be reclaimed by you within the next 60 days or, in accordance with state law, by contacting this office. Thereafter, the personal property shall be discarded accordingly.”

7. The repossession sale was originally scheduled for January 7, 2003. An adjourned repossession sale was scheduled for Janu[232]*232ary 27, 2003. The actual sale occurred on February 4, 2003. No written notice of any sale date was given to the defendant other than the notice referred to in paragraph 6. The sale price of the vehicle was $13,500. Ford expended $1,081.30 in repossession and sale expenses.

8. At the approximate time of sale, Ford assessed that the defendant had $9,237 of monthly payments remaining on his lease and $212.98 of late fees and service charges outstanding as of said date.

9. If the lease had run its full 36-month course, the vehicle’s residual value upon surrender would have been $14,173 (exhibit 1).

Disputed Issues of Fact

The only relevant disputed issues of fact are whether the defendant received the “Notice of Repossession” referred to in paragraph 6 {supra), and whether the defendant received any other notice of sale or notice of proposed charges from any other source. The court finds that the defendant did in fact receive the certified mail notice of repossession and sign the return receipt as indicated in plaintiffs exhibit No. 6. The record reflects no other oral or written notice of sale was given by Ford.

Legal Issues Presented

A. Does New York State law require lessor’s to give notice of a motor vehicle repossession sale or any other notice as a precondition to seeking to collect upon any deficiency existing under a “motor vehicle lease agreement”?

B. Can Ford recover outstanding fees and expenses called for under its lease independently of any liability arising out of its loss of realized value after a motor vehicle foreclosure?

The Law

It is a common misconception that auto “lease” foreclosures are still governed by UCC 9-610 and its predecessor statute UCC former 9-504 (1). Under pre-1995 law the distinction of who was a “secured party” was expansively interpreted to cover most “conditional sale” leases and the foreclosure standard was to conduct a “commercially reasonable sale.” (See, Sheffield Commercial Corp. v Clemente, 792 F2d 282 [2d Cir 1986]; Barco Auto Leasing Corp. v PSI Cosmetics, 125 Misc 2d 68 [Civ Ct, NY County 1984]; Credit Car Leasing Corp. v DeCresenzo, 138 [233]*233Misc 2d 726 [Civ Ct, NY County 1988].) These sales had no absolute requirement for actual notice of auction sale or to mandate the content of said notice. (See, American Honda Fin. Corp. v Delorio, 260 AD2d 416 [2d Dept 1999].1

The State Legislature sought to address the court-created “disguised sale” foreclosure sale deficiency scenario by enacting article 9 of the Personal Property Law. (See, Governor’s Program Bill Mem No. 190R, 1994 NY Legis Ann, at 1-5.) Sections 340, 341 and 343 of the Personal Property Law (added L 1994, ch 1, § 31 [eff Aug. 31, 1995]) were enacted as consumer protection statutes (see, 21 NY Jur 2d, Consumer & Borrower Protection § 238 [“Procedures upon termination without purchase of vehicle”]). These statutes clarify the rights of lease holders as distinct from the rights of secured creditors during a chattel foreclosure. In a secured transaction the vehicle’s equity belongs to the finance debtor. The calculation for determining a deficiency is simply derived by subtracting the sale proceeds from the outstanding note liability. Establishing a lease deficiency is more complex as the vehicle’s equity after the lease term belongs to the finance creditor. When a lease terminates early, the creditor receives the benefit of accelerated possession. It is the intent of the Personal Property Law to require that this benefit must be offset against the lost profits of the remaining lease payments.2

Section 341

It is clear from the caption of section 341, “Restriction on early termination liability” (emphasis added), that the New York State Legislature intended to place limitations upon how much automobile lease financiers could charge lessees in the event of a lease termination. The statute provides a very detailed list of potential liability criteria when it provides:

“1. If an agreement is terminated early and there is no option to purchase the vehicle or the lessee does not exercise any option he or she may have to purchase the vehicle, the early termination obligation of the lessee may not exceed an amount equal [234]*234to the sum of:
“(a) any unpaid rental payments that accrued through the date of early termination;
“(b) any other unpaid charges, other than excess mileage charges, arising from the failure of the lessee to fulfill his or her obligations under the agreement;
“(c) any official fees and taxes imposed in connection with lease termination;
“(d) a reasonable disposition fee or, in lieu thereof, the reasonable costs of retaking, storing, preparing for sale and selling the vehicle;

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Related

American Honda Finance Corp. v. DeIorio
260 A.D.2d 416 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1999)
Barco Auto Leasing Corp. v. PSI Cosmetics, Inc.
125 Misc. 2d 68 (Civil Court of the City of New York, 1984)
Credit Car Leasing Corp. v. DeCresenzo
138 Misc. 2d 726 (Civil Court of the City of New York, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 Misc. 3d 230, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ford-motor-credit-co-v-esposito-nydistctsuffolk-2005.