Goodwin v. Beneficial Finance Co.

338 So. 2d 1011, 1976 Ala. LEXIS 1684
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedOctober 1, 1976
StatusPublished

This text of 338 So. 2d 1011 (Goodwin v. Beneficial Finance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodwin v. Beneficial Finance Co., 338 So. 2d 1011, 1976 Ala. LEXIS 1684 (Ala. 1976).

Opinion

338 So.2d 1011 (1976)

Eddie K. GOODWIN et al.
v.
BENEFICIAL FINANCE COMPANY of Alabama, a corp.

SC 1663.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

October 1, 1976.
Rehearing Denied November 5, 1976.

Jerry O. Lorant, Reid B. Barnes, Jr., Birmingham, for appellants.

L. Murray Alley, William A. Robinson, Birmingham, for appellee.

SHORES, Justice.

This is an appeal by the plaintiffs from a judgment granting a motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendant.

The plaintiffs entered into loan transactions with the defendant, which issued to the plaintiffs disclosure statements. Plaintiffs contend that such statements fail to comply with the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., and Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 226.1 et seq., in that it:

1) Failed to disclose the "cash proceeds of the loan,"

2) Failed to disclose the credit terms in meaningful sequence, and

3) Failed to disclose the credit terms in the proper conspicuous style and size.

We have carefully examined Beneficial's disclosure statement and disagree with the trial court that it complies with the requirements of law.

*1012 Under the provisions of 15 U.S.C. § 1639(a):

"Any creditor making a consumer loan or otherwise extending consumer credit in a transaction which is neither a consumer credit sale nor under an open and consumer credit plan shall disclose each of the following items, to the extent applicable:
"(1) The amount of credit of which the obligor will have the actual use, or which is or will be paid to him or for his account or to another person on his behalf.
"(2) All charges, individually itemized, which are included in the amount of credit extended but which are not part of the finance charge.
"(3) The total amount to be financed (the sum of the amounts referred to in paragraph (1) plus the amounts referred to in paragraph (2))." (Emphasis Supplied)

We agree with the opinion of the United States Court of Appeals in Pollock v. General Finance Corp., 535 F.2d 295, 298 (5th Cir. 1976), that:

"These three subsections of § 1639(a) clearly require the disclosure of three different items. A creditor must disclose (1) the amount of cash given to the debtor or given on the debtor's behalf, (2) the charges, individually itemized, and (3) the total of the above two amounts. . ."

The act passed by the Congress clearly requires that lenders disclose to the borrowers the amount of credit of which the obligor will have the actual use. The regulation promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, known as Regulation Z is less clear. However, we agree with the Fifth Circuit that that regulation must be read in light of the statute, which clearly requires separate disclosure of the amount borrowed. Regulation Z, § 226.8(d), provides:

". . . the following items, as applicable, shall be disclosed:
"(1) The amount of credit . . . which will be paid to the customer or for his account or to another person on his behalf, including all charges, individually itemized, which are included in the amount of credit extended but which are not part of the finance charge, using the term `amount financed.'"

To be consistent with the act of Congress, this regulation should be read to require the following disclosures:

(1) The amount of credit which will be paid to the customer or for his account. . . .;
(2) All charges, individually itemized, which are included in the amount of credit extended, but not a part of the finance charge; and
(3) The total of these amounts, which shall be designated "the amount financed."

In the instant case, the lender has disclosed only part of the first item and the last two items. The disclosure statement itemizes all charges made, i.e., $48.24 for disability insurance, $32.16 life insurance, and $7.55 filing fees. The amount financed is shown to be $1308.62. At no place on the form is the debtor informed of what the actual amount of the "credit of which the obligor will have the actual use" is (paid to another on his behalf, item 1). This amount can be calculated by adding the net balance of the prior loan, $394.40, plus the itemized charges listed above, and subtracting that total from the amount financed, $1308.62. These calculations reveal that the debtor has a credit of $826.27 of which "he will have the actual use."

In the Pollock case, the statement informed the debtor that the total amount financed was $171.36, but did not disclose that the amount of the loan was $155.28. Even though one of the amounts listed on the statement was $155.28, without a description of what the amount was, the Fifth Circuit said:

". . . Although the debtor could have determined the amount of the loan by the simple arithmetic procedure of subtracting the total insurance charges from the total amount financed, we determine *1013 that the statute does not require a consumer to perform this function, and that the creditor's failure to disclose the required item violated § 1639(a)(1)." (535 F.2d at 299)

The same result is compelled in this case; and we therefore reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Additionally, the United States Court of Appeals, in Allen v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Gary, Inc., 531 F.2d 797 (7th Cir. 1976), had before it the exact disclosure form involved in this case. The statement in that case did, however, unlike the present one, disclose the amount of the cash or check delivered to the borrowers. Nevertheless, that court held that the disclosure statement failed to meet the standards of the Truth in Lending Act, because the figures were not set out in a meaningful sequence, required by Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 226.1, et seq.

The amount paid out to the borrowers in that case was shown in the box on the right side of the form, last entry. In the instant case, it is not set out at any place on the form. The court, in Allen, said, speaking to the "meaningful sequence" requirement:

" . . . For instance, in the amount financed column, one would expect to find the sum paid out to the borrowers at the top, and, in the case of refinancing a loan, the amount of the prior loan also near the top. These are the principal elements of the amount borrowed and the borrower would expect to find these terms in a prominent position. . . ." (531 F.2d at 802)

The court, in Allen, thought the form failed to meet the disclosure requirements because the items, although included, were not presented in a meaningful sequence. At the very least, the items must be shown somewhere on the form, and the amount loaned is nowhere shown on the form before us.

We are mindful that Allen

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
338 So. 2d 1011, 1976 Ala. LEXIS 1684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodwin-v-beneficial-finance-co-ala-1976.