McCoy v. Salem Mortgage Co.

74 F.R.D. 8, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1065, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12767
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedOctober 14, 1976
DocketNo. 4-71311
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 74 F.R.D. 8 (McCoy v. Salem Mortgage Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCoy v. Salem Mortgage Co., 74 F.R.D. 8, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1065, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12767 (E.D. Mich. 1976).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RALPH M. FREEMAN, District Judge.

This is a motion for class decertification brought by defendant Salem Mortgage Company, partly in response to plaintiffs’ motions to amend their complaint to include a claim for actual damages and to substitute the administratrix of the estate of plaintiff, Dorothy McCoy, as the named representative. The underlying claim involves an alleged violation of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., arising out of a credit transaction wherein plaintiff, Dorothy McCoy, borrowed $1500.00 from the defendant, Roland Benge and Company, secured by a first mortgage on the plaintiff’s home. The transaction was arranged by the defendant Salem Mortgage Company acting in the capacity of mortgage broker.

This Court issued an opinion on August 27,1975, reviewing the legislative history of Truth in Lending and certifying the class. At that time, the Court found that the proposed class action satisfied all the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, named plaintiff Dorothy McCoy was found to be an adequate representative because “[pending claims of all the Borrowers [were] coextensive” and would “stand or fall together.”

In the year that has passed since that opinion, however, the parties have made the Court aware of serious ramifications of the 1974 amendment to Truth in Lending. That amendment, fully reviewed in this Court’s prior opinion, was designed to eliminate the “horrendous liability”1 to which defendants were exposed under the original Act. Rather than placing the courts in a dilemma which had them choose between denying class actions altogether or permitting multi-million dollar recoveries against defendants for minor or technical violations, Congress placed a ceiling of $100,000 or 1% of net worth, whichever is less, on a defendant’s statutory liability in any class action.

While that amendment appears on the surface to establish an equitable compromise which permits class actions without bankrupting defendants, it also creates an impossible situation for many plaintiffs. Whereas a plaintiff’s statutory recovery in an individual action may be as high as $1000.00, the ceiling on class recovery may reduce that amount to almost nothing. That is so in the case of McCoy v. Salem Mortgage. The finance charges in each transaction generally exceed $500.00, and under the statute an individual would be entitled to the lesser of twice the finance charge or $1000.00. In a class action, however, the class recovery would be limited to 1% of Salem’s net worth, approximately $5000.00. Divided by 761, the number of class members, the individual recoveries would be about $6.57.

Plaintiff McCoy testified at deposition that she had never heard of and did not desire a class action, and that she was interested in recovering as much money as possible against Salem. Such an attitude strongly suggests that McCoy’s interests are opposed to those of other class members, and that she would therefore not be an adequate representative. Plaintiff argues, however, that the statute permits a named plaintiff in a class action to recover individual statutory damages in addition to the class recovery.

Since the legislative history does not address this issue, plaintiff relies on the remedial nature of the statute, the importance of class actions as an enforcement mechanism, and the use of the term “members of the class” rather than “named plain[11]*11tiff” or “class representative” in committee reports discussing the amendment to the bill. This Court is persuaded, however, that the statute does not support such an interpretation. In the only cases to consider the issue directly, the courts have declined to read the statute to allow the named plaintiff and intervenors to recover individual statutory damages. In Weathersby v. Fireside Thrift Co., CCH Consumer Credit Guide ¶ 98,640 (N.D.Cal., Feb. 25, 1975), the court emphasized that such a solution did not provide viable options for other class members and that it severely limited the discretion of the Court in fashioning an equitable remedy. The Court concluded:

In view of the present state of confusion, the court concludes that the suggestion made by plaintiff and intervenor is not adequate. Congress may well have hoped that class actions would in some cases be maintained, but it did not provide a mechanism that would permit the courts to handle such actions. Plaintiff and intervenor properly point out that, under the new statute, it is likely no plaintiff will seek to represent a class if he thereby will reduce his own recovery. Nevertheless, plaintiffs should find the prospect of a mandatory award without proof of injury sufficient to stimulate them to bring suit

The Court went on to note that the possibility of recovering both attorneys’ fees and actual damages should encourage suits under the Truth in Lending Act and summarized by stating:

Thus, although Congress may have intended not to foreclose the possibility of class actions for the statutory penalty, it cannot be said that such a class action is essential to the deterrent operation of the statute, and the court should not dilute the requirements of Rule 23 to permit it.

Three other cases suggest that plaintiffs’ statutory interpretation allowing individual damages to the named representative is incorrect. In Agostine v. Sidcon Corp., 69 F.R.D. 437 (E.D.Pa.1975), wherein the court allowed a class action to proceed because the named plaintiff agreed to accept only her pro rata share of the class recovery, the court discussed the problem posed by the 1974 amendment and summarized the findings of other courts as follows:

Weathersby v. Fireside Thrift Company is factually distinguishable from the present case. The plaintiff and an intervenor in that case sought to represent approximately one hundred and thirty (130) persons. They alleged that the form which the defendant used in connection with its loan failed to comply with the disclosure requirements of the Act and Regulation Z. The plaintiff hoped to recover $605, and the intervenor $460. Unlike plaintiff, they asked the court to provide, in the order certifying the class, that their individual recovery would not be affected by the certification. The court quite rightly held that, because the plaintiff and intervenor might receive money that would otherwise go to unnamed class members, they could not fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. In Boggs v. Alto Trailer Sales, Inc., supra, 511 F.2d [114] at 118, the court pointed out the problem by way of a hypothetical, but remanded to the district court for a determination on the merits of the class action motion. Finally, in Postow v. Oriental Building Association, supra, 390 F.Supp. [1130] at 1140-1141, the court, which ultimately granted a motion for a class action, held that notwithstanding this hypothetical problem the representative parties would fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. (Emphasis supplied.)

In the case before this Court, named plaintiff Dorothy McCoy made clear before she died that her only interest in this action was to maximize her own recovery.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 F.R.D. 8, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1065, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccoy-v-salem-mortgage-co-mied-1976.