Moore v. Tower Loan of Mississippi, Inc.

487 F. Supp. 352, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10708
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 29, 1980
DocketNo. WC 79-79-S-P
StatusPublished

This text of 487 F. Supp. 352 (Moore v. Tower Loan of Mississippi, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moore v. Tower Loan of Mississippi, Inc., 487 F. Supp. 352, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10708 (N.D. Miss. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

ORMA R. SMITH, District Judge.

This action is before the court upon the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, pursuant to Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P. After considering briefs in support of and in opposition to the motion, and after receiving oral argument from counsel for both sides, the court directed counsel for defendant to supplement the defendant’s motion by filing additional affidavits. These affidavits having been filed, the matter is now ready for decision.

The plaintiff’s complaint alleges a violation of certain provisions of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. The facts of this case, as revealed by plaintiff’s complaint and by the arguments of counsel, indicate that on December 26, 1978, the plaintiff entered into a loan agreement with the defendant, by executing a promissory note and security agreement. The amount financed, as evidenced by the disclosure statement given to the plaintiff, was $791.87. This amount was to be repaid in 25 consecutive monthly installments, at a purported annual percentage rate of 35.66%. The finance charge, therefore, was calculated to be $358.13, and the total amount to be repaid was $1150.00. Plaintiff alleges that the defendant violated the Truth in Lending Act during this transaction, in that it: (1) failed to disclose the [354]*354terms of the contract in meaningful sequence; (2) failed to give “specifically dated and separately signed” written affirmative indication of a desire to obtain credit life insurance; and (3) failed to state properly the annual percentage rate of the finance charges. The defendant has alleged in its motion and supporting affidavits, that it complied in all respects with the requirements of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, that it relied in good faith upon certain loan tables and charts, and that it is, therefore, entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

The Truth in Lending Act was designed “to assure a meaningful disclosure of credit terms so that the consumer will be able to compare more readily the various credit terms available to him and avoid the uninformed use of credit. . . . ” 15 U.S.C. § 1601(a). To achieve that purpose, Congress established a broad statutory scheme of disclosure requirements with which creditors must comply before lending money. In general, a creditor must disclose “clearly and conspicuously, in accordance with the regulations of the [Federal Reserve] Board, to each person to whom consumer credit is extended and upon whom a finance charge is or may be imposed,” certain required information. 15 U.S.C. § 1631(a).1 The disclosures required in the type of transaction in the instant case, are set forth in 15 U.S.C. § 1639(a).2 These general requirements are supplemented by more specific regulations promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board, under the authority of 15 U.S.C. § 1604. A creditor may be subject to criminal liability for “willfully and knowingly” failing to provide the required information, 15 U.S.C. § 1611. In addition, 15 U.S.C. § 1640 provides that “any creditor who fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this part . . . with respect to any person is liable to such person” for the sum of any actual damages, twice the amount of the finance charge, and all costs of the action, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. Section 1640 also includes certain defenses to a private action, including a violation resulting from a bona fide error or good faith compliance with any rule, regulation, or interpretation of the Federal Reserve Board. 15 U.S.C. § 1640(c) & (f).

The plaintiff alleges that, in the transaction involved here, the defendant violated § 1631 by failing to disclose certain infor[355]*355mation as required by Regulation Z. Specifically, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant failed to give those disclosures required by 15 U.S.C. § 1639 and 12 C.F.R. § 226.83 “clearly, conspicuously, [and] in meaningful sequence.” 12 C.F.R. § 226.-6(a). In addition, the plaintiff contends that the defendant failed to state properly the annual percentage rate of the finance charges, required by 15 U.S.C. § 1639(a)(5) and 12 C.F.R. §§ 226.5 & 226.8(b)(2). Finally, in an allegation not presented in the plaintiff’s complaint but raised in the plaintiff’s brief and during argument on the motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff contends that the defendant did not properly disclose the amount of loan proceeds to which the plaintiff had actual use. See 15 U.S.C. § 1639(a)(1); 12 C.F.R. § 226.8(d)(1).

The court finds that the material facts involved in this action are not in dispute. The issue to be resolved is whether the defendant “is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56(c), Fed.R.Civ.P. This naturally involves the proper interpretation of those statutes and regulations previously cited, and a decision as to whether or not the defendant has complied with the requirements of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.

Plaintiff would ask this court to interpret the language of § 226.6(a) of Regulation Z, calling for disclosure in a “meaningful sequence”, to require that the terms of the loan agreement be set out in a particular order or progression. The defendant correctly points out, however, that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in interpreting this regulation, does not require such a hard and fast rule. The statute and regulations “with respect to meaningful séquence do not require any particular order for the disclosure of the security interest retained by the lender so long as that description is clear and conspicuous.” Lamar v. American Finance System, 577 F.2d 953, 954 (5th Cir. 1978), citing with approval Federal Reserve Board Public Position Letter No. 780 (April 10, 1974).4 In the instant case, the items at the top of the disclosure statement are all logically and arithmetically related to each other. Item number 1 is the total sum of all the payments, that is, the amount financed added to the finance charge. Item number 2 is the finance charge, number 3 is the annual percentage rate, and number 4 is the amount financed.

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Bluebook (online)
487 F. Supp. 352, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-tower-loan-of-mississippi-inc-msnd-1980.