Lawrence v. Household Bank (SB), N.A.

397 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27212, 2005 WL 3006043
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 30, 2005
DocketCivil Action 2:03cv280-T (WO)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 397 F. Supp. 2d 1332 (Lawrence v. Household Bank (SB), N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lawrence v. Household Bank (SB), N.A., 397 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27212, 2005 WL 3006043 (M.D. Ala. 2005).

Opinion

ORDER

MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Reather Lawrence, Kari Brown, and Abe Hunter III brought this suit against defendants Household Bank (SB), N.A., and Household Credit Services, Inc. in an Alabama state court, alleging violations of the federal Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1666-1666j, as enforced by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C.A. § 1640. Defendants removed the action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1441 and 1446; this court’s jurisdiction is properly invoked under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331.

Defendants filed a motion to stay the proceedings pending arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C.A. § 1-16. In turn, plaintiffs filed a motion seeking a jury trial on the question of whether there exist agreements to arbitrate in this case. In a judgment and opinion dated September 13, 2004, Lawrence v. Household Bank, N.A, 343 F.Supp.2d 1101 (M.D.Ala.2004) (Thompson, J.), this court granted defendants’ motion to stay as to Brown’s and Hunter’s claims, and denied the motion as to Lawrence’s claims.

This cause is now before the court on Brown’s and Hunter’s motion to alter, amend or vacate the judgment pursuant to FedR.Civ.P. 59(e). For the following reasons, the motion will be denied.

I. STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) authorizes a motion to alter or amend a judgment after its entry. Rule 59(e) provides no specific grounds for relief, and “the decision to alter or amend judgment is committed to the sound discretion of the district judge.” American Home Assur. Co. v. Glenn Estess & Assocs., Inc., 763 F.2d 1237, 1238-39 (11th Cir.1985). There are four basic grounds for granting a Rule 59(e) motion: (1) manifest errors of law or fact upon which the judgment was based; (2) newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence; (3) manifest injustice in the judgment; and (4) an intervening change in the controlling law. 11 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2810.1 (2d ed.1995). Rule 59(e) may not be used to relitigate old matters or to present arguments or evidence that could have been raised prior to judgment. O’Neal v. Kennamer, 958 F.2d 1044, 1047 (11th Cir.1992). Furthermore, a judgment will not be amended or altered if to do so would serve no useful purpose. Wright, Miller & Kane, supra.

II. BACKGROUND

In their brief in opposition to the defendants’ motion to stay proceedings in favor of arbitration, plaintiffs originally argued that the arbitration clauses contained in Hunter’s and Brown’s credit cardholder agreements were unconscionable under “generally applicable Alabama contract law” because they effectively precluded them from bringing an action to enforce their rights. 1 Citing Leonard v. Terminix Int’l Co., 854 So.2d 529 (Ala.2002), plaintiffs argued that their card agreements barred them from bringing class arbitra-tions and that the cost of bringing individual arbitration claims would exceed any anticipated amount of recovery. 2

*1334 Although the cardholder agreement sent to both Brown and Hunter indicated that it will be governed by federal and Nevada law, plaintiffs specifically and emphatically argued in their brief that the court should apply Alabama law, and not Nevada law, to the issue of unconscionability because the agreements violated Alabama public policy. The plaintiffs contended,

“Household may argue that its contract is governed by Nevada law, not Alabama law. However, a federal district court applies the choice-of-law rules of the state in which it sits. Allison v. Vintage Sports Plaques, 136 F.3d 1443, 1446 (11th Cir.1998).... Although parties may agree that another state’s law will govern their contract, suck an agreement is ineffective where the chosen state’s law conflicts with the law or public policy of the state in which the contract is made.” 3

Several paragraphs later, plaintiffs further argued that Alabama law would apply even if Nevada’s law did not conflict with this State’s public policy, because Brown and Hunter assented to the cardholder agreements in Alabama. 4 They noted,

“Alabama’s choice-of-law rules require that, because the plaintiffs are Alabama residents, the threshold question of un-conscionability must be determined by the substantive law of Alabama. Bryant v. Cruises, Inc., 6 F.Supp.2d 1314, 1321, n. 5 (N.D.Ala.1998) (Alabama’s choice-of-law rule provides that the law of the state where the contract was formed governs questions regarding the validity and interpretation of the contract.).” 5

Applying Alabama law, this court subsequently disagreed with plaintiffs’ argument, holding that the arbitration clauses contained in Hunter’s and Brown’s cardholder agreements were not unconscionable and that this case is distinguishable from Leonard because, unlike in Leonard, Hunter’s and Brown’s arbitration agreements do not limit their ability to recover costs and fees. 343 F.Supp.2d at 1112.

Now that the court has found that the cardholder agreements are not unconscionable under Alabama law, Brown and Hunter attempt to argue that, in fact, Nevada law applies. Their motion to alter is based on D.R. Horton, Inc. v. Green, 120 Nev. 549, 96 P.3d 1159 (2004), a case released by the Supreme Court of Nevada on the same day this court’s opinion was rendered. Brown and Hunter seem to claim that Horton, which discusses the uncon-scionability of a home-purchase agreement, constitutes an intervening change in the controlling law. 6 They argue that, pursuant to Rule 59(e), this court should alter its judgment accordingly and find that their agreements to arbitrate are unconscionable under Nevada law.

For several reasons, the court finds the motion meritless.

III. DISCUSSION

A.

As stated above, Rule 59(e) may not be used to relitigate old matters or to present arguments or evidence that could have been raised prior to judgment. O’Neal v. Kennamer, 958 F.2d 1044, 1047 *1335 (11th Cir.1992). Although they could have argued in their opposition to defendants’ motion to stay that the cardholder agreements were governed by Nevada law, plaintiffs instead elected to argue that Alabama law applies to their cardholder agreements.

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Related

Lawrence v. Household Bank (SB), N.A.
505 F. Supp. 2d 1279 (M.D. Alabama, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
397 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27212, 2005 WL 3006043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lawrence-v-household-bank-sb-na-almd-2005.