Lechmere Tire & Sales Co. v. Burwick

44 Mass. App. Dec. 45
CourtMassachusetts District Court, Appellate Division
DecidedFebruary 20, 1970
DocketNo. 7150; No. 5275
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Mass. App. Dec. 45 (Lechmere Tire & Sales Co. v. Burwick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts District Court, Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lechmere Tire & Sales Co. v. Burwick, 44 Mass. App. Dec. 45 (Mass. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Brooks, P.J.

This is an action of contract to recover for merchandise sold to the holder [46]*46of defendant’s credit card in the amount of $611.78 with interest from November 30, 1967.

Count 1 is for goods sold and delivered.

Count 2 is for breach of an agreement based on acceptance of a credit card under which defendant was to be responsible for all purchases through its use.

The answer is general denial, payment, statute of frauds, violation of Q-.L. c. 140A, § 6, mutual mistake, contributory negligence.

At the trial there ivas evidence as follows: Plaintiff operates two department stores located in Cambridge and Dedham in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Defendant is a certified public accountant and an attorney at law. On April 30, 1964 he signed a preprinted credit application provided by plaintiff for the purpose of obtaining a credit card for use in purchasing merchandise from plaintiff’s store.

On the credit application appeared the following: “ (I) We agree to surrender credit plate on request and to be responsible for all purchases through its use until surrendered or until the co'mpany has been notified of its loss or theft in writing.” Defendant testified that at the time of signing the application, he read the above clause and that he was a member of the Bar but not a practicing attorney.

Subsequently defendant received from plaintiff a credit card, which he signed in the space designated for his signature.

[47]*47Defendant and Ms wife used the credit card for purchase of merchandise from plaintiff on many occasions prior to October 11, 1967. On that date defendant received a statement of his account from plaintiff dated September 30,1967 showing purchases of merchandise charged to defendant’s account in the amount of $153.22. On said date of October 11, 1967 defendant orally notified plaintiff that the credit card was lost, missing or stolen. He was notified at that time that additional charges had been made to defendant’s account totaling $611.78, involving approximately fifteen separate transactions.

On October 17, 1967 defendant notified plaintiff in writing that the card was lost, stolen or missing.

Examination of sales slips disclosed that defendant’s alleged signatures were forged. Examination of signatures on the sales slips showed defendant’s name misspelled in several instances. Also, it appeared that on purchase slips in amounts larger than $15.00 there was approval by the credit personnel of the plaintiff without seeing the sales slips, approval being secured by telephone.

There was also evidence that signatures on the purchase slips were not compared with the signature on the credit card.

Defendant testified that he did not make the purchases in question, nor received merchandise, nor authorized anyone to do so in his behalf.

[48]*48Defendant filed thirteen requests for rulings of which Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9,12,13 were allowed, some with qualifications. Bequests were denied as follows: No. 1, 6, 7, 10,11. For sake of brevity citations are omitted.

The requests and the court’s disposition were as follows:

1. A Credit card issuer, as a matter of law, owes a duty of care to its card holders to ascertain the identity of a user of the credit card. Denied.

2. Where a contract is an “adhesion” form of contract, wherein the person executing same has no choice as to its content other than to accept or reject the contract in its entirety then, as a matter of law, the said contract is strictly construed against the writer or drawer of the said contract. Allowed.

3. As a matter of law, there cannot be “liability without fault” on the part of the defendant. Allowed.

4. “As between innocent parties”, as a matter of law, he who makes the loss possible should bear the consequences. Allowed.

5. Where a contract is an “adhesion” form of contract, wherein the person executing same has no choice as to its content other than to accept or reject the contract in its entirety, and wherein an ambiguity is latent or manifest, then, as a matter of law, the contract is strictly construed against the writer or drawer of the contract. Allowed.

[49]*496. Where a contract action arises ont of and damages are based upon that which is actually a tort for negligence against the defendant, then, as a matter of law, the defense of contributory negligence is available to the defendant. Denied.

7. Where the defendant is answerable for the wrongdoing of another, then, as a matter of law, the plaintiff owes the defendant a duty of reasonable care, because the defendant is a “gratuitous surety.” Denied.

8. Where the defendant agrees to be answerable for the wrongdoing of another, such promise, as a matter of law, must be in writing, and signed by the party to be charged therewith or by some person thereunto by him lawfully authorized. Allowed.

9. If the Court, as a matter of law, finds the contract or any clause thereof to be unconscionable at the time it was made, the Court may refuse to enforce the contract to avoid an unconscionable result. Allowed.

10. The credit card issuer owes the card holder, as a matter of law, a duty of reasonable care to protect the said holder from unnecessary charges, and the card holder could not be held to the terms of a contract until such due care is shown. Denied.

11. Where a contract states that the promisor be “responsible for all purchases through its (credit card) use ...”, as a matter of law, the word purchases is defined as the transmis[50]*50sion of property from one person to another by voluntary act and agreement, founded on valuable consideration. Denied.

12. As a matter of law, in Massachusetts, the word “purchase” means the act of acquiring property by the payment of the price. Allowed.

13. A person who falsely or fraudulently identifies himself as the person to whom a credit card was issued and by such trick obtains goods from another, as a matter of law, is not a purchaser by legal definition of the word purchaser. Allowed.

The Court ruled as follows on the defendant’s requests for rulings of Law:

1. Denied. I rule that the issuer of a credit card owes a duty to the card holder, to act in good faith in accepting the card when goods are obtained in a credit transaction. I find that the plaintiff and its employees acted in good faith in this case.

2. Allowed. See other rulings.

3. Allowed. However, the defendant was obliged by his contract to protect himself against unauthorized use of the credit card by guarding it against loss or theft and by ascertaining regularly that the had the card in his possession. I rule that he is liable to the store for the goods which were wrongfully obtained by an imposter, since he failed to notify the store of the loss or theft of the card.

4. Alloived. I find that the loss would have been impossible if plaintiff had maintained [51]*51possession of the card, or if he had ascertained systematically that he had possession of it.

5.

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Bluebook (online)
44 Mass. App. Dec. 45, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lechmere-tire-sales-co-v-burwick-massdistctapp-1970.