Interlakes Financial Corp. v. Payne

92 Misc. 2d 770, 401 N.Y.S.2d 713, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1967
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 10, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 92 Misc. 2d 770 (Interlakes Financial Corp. v. Payne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Interlakes Financial Corp. v. Payne, 92 Misc. 2d 770, 401 N.Y.S.2d 713, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1967 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Charles B. Swartwood, J.

The plaintiff finance company in each of the above actions moved for summary judgment and the defendants in each action made a cross motion for summary judgment. These motions came on to be heard at the Special Term in Tompkins County on September 8, 1977 and were argued together since the legal issues in both actions are identical and the same attorneys are involved in both actions. The attorneys were given additional time to submit briefs and have submitted excellent briefs.

In each action the plaintiff seeks to recover on a written combined promissory note and disclosure statement for money loaned against the defendants. In each action the defendant wife has answered denying some allegations but admitting default in payment of the note and has alleged as a defense and counterclaim that the note by its terms retained a security interest in after-acquired consumer goods but failed to disclose that under section 9-204 (subd [4], par [b]) of the New York Uniform Commercial Code a security interest in after-acquired property attaches only to consumer goods acquired within 10 days after the loan is made; that the note failed to disclose to the defendants the limited nature of the security interest; that this violated the Federal Truth in Lending Act (TIL Act) (US Code, tit 15, § 1639, subd [a], par [8]) and the regulations thereunder (12 CFR 226.8 [b] [5]) and thereby section 353 of the New York Banking Law which incorporates by reference the Federal TIL Act so that the defendants are entitled to twice the amount of the finance charges as an offset against the note held by the plaintiff.

[772]*772The defendants’ "second” defense and counterclaim in the Payne action and "third” in the Sanderson action is to void the note entirely pursuant to section 358 of the New York Banking Law by reason of the violation of section 353 of the Banking Law because of the aforesaid violation of the TIL Act.

Each answer of the defendant wives contains a cross claim against her defaulting husband for any amount which the plaintiff may recover against her on the ground that each wife was only an accommodation maker for her husband and received no value therefor. However, the defendant Jeannie Sanderson did not serve her cross claim on Lawrence Sander-son.

There is another issue which was not raised in the plaintiff’s reply or in its motion for summary judgment and that is the question of whether the defenses based on the violation of the Federal TIL Act are time-barred by the one-year period of limitation contained in title 15 (§ 1640, subd [e]) of the United States Code. The plaintiff does raise the issue in its brief, claiming that the one-year limitation is a condition precedent which cannot be waived. The defendants claim that whether or not it is considered a Statute of Limitations which was waived or a condition precedent, the limitation was not intended to bar the assertion of a defense in the nature of recoupment to the extent of the plaintiff’s claim although affirmative relief could no longer be obtained thereon.

There are no issues of fact. We should also note that the plaintiff has not attempted to foreclose on any after-acquired property of these defendants.

The first issue is whether the failure of the plaintiff to state in its combined note and disclosure statements that the security interest covering the defendants’ after-acquired household consumer goods was limited to those goods acquired by the defendants within 10 days after the loans were made under section 9-204 (subd [4], par [b]) of the Uniform Commercial Code violated the disclosure requirements of the TIL Act and thus section 353 of the Banking Law.

The disclosure in this case revealed that the security interest consisted of a note, wage assignment, insurance, a described motor vehicle and "All of the household consumer goods of every kind now owned or hereafter acquired by Debtors in replacement of said consumer goods (and proceeds) [773]*773now or hereafter located in or about Debtor’s residence above set forth, including items listed on Schedule attached.”

The Federal TIL Act (US Code, tit 15, § 1639, subd [a], par [8]) provides as follows: "A description of any security interest held or to be retained or acquired by the creditor in connection with the extension of credit, and a clear identification of the property to which the security interest relates.”

The regulations thereunder (12 CFR 226.8 [b] [5]), state in part as follows: "If after-acquired property will be subject to the security interest * * * this fact shall be clearly set forth in conjunction with the description or identification of the type of security interest held, retained or acquired.”

A failure to properly disclose under the Federal TIL Act calls for certain penalties against the lender including in some cases twice the finance charge with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $1,000 plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. (US Code, tit 15, § 1640.) The New York law, however, provides under section 358 of the Banking Law that a violation of section 353 which incorporates the Federal TIL Act by reference shall be a misdemeanor and results in the total forfeiture of the principal and interest of the loan.

There is a division of authority as to whether the failure to explain the 10-day limitation imposed by State law under section 9-204 (subd [4], par [b]) of the Uniform Commercial Code as to after-acquired consumer goods is a violation of the Federal TIL Act. The Fifth Circuit decided in Pollock v General Fin. Corp. (535 F2d 295), that the failure to disclose was a violation of the Federal act. There are a goodly number of cases that are in accord with this point of view. (See, for instance, Tinsman v Moline Beneñcial Fin. Co., 531 F2d 815; Bartlett v Commercial Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn., 433 F Supp 284 [other cases collated pp 286-287].) The basis for this position is explained in the Pollock case (p 299) thusly: "We believe that the disclosure statement, although perhaps not false, fails to make a complete disclosure concerning the security interest retained in after-acquired goods, and therefore it did not comply with the further requirement of the regulation that notice that after-acquired property will be subject to the security interest 'shall be clearly set forth in conjunction with the description or identification of the type of the security interest held . . . .’ We believe that this portion of the regulation requires a lender to explain the 10 day limitation of UCC 9-204(4)(b) so that the borrower is informed

[774]*774that any consumer goods that he may acquire within 10 days of the loan transaction are subject to the security interest and that any consumer goods acquired after that date are not. Since the lender failed to disclose the nature of the security interest retained in after-acquired property, we determine that General Finance violated § 226.8(b)(5).”

There is authority to the contrary, Matter of Dickson (432 F Supp 752) and Public Loan Co. v Hyde (89 Misc 2d 226) in this Judicial District.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 Misc. 2d 770, 401 N.Y.S.2d 713, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/interlakes-financial-corp-v-payne-nysupct-1978.