Morgan v. Citizens Bank

912 So. 2d 1133, 2005 Miss. App. LEXIS 744, 2005 WL 2649969
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedOctober 18, 2005
DocketNo. 2004-CA-00776-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 912 So. 2d 1133 (Morgan v. Citizens Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morgan v. Citizens Bank, 912 So. 2d 1133, 2005 Miss. App. LEXIS 744, 2005 WL 2649969 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

MYERS, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. This case arises from the grant of the defendants’s motion for summary judgment in the Marion County Circuit Court. The crux of the case is whether individuals were forced to purchase insurance at accelerated premiums as part of a loan agreement; the underlying facts of which are as follows:

¶ 2. On January 20, 2002, Chris Morgan filed his complaint against Joanna Powell, Gulf Guaranty Insurance Company, and Citizens Bank in the Circuit Court of Marion County. Morgan thereafter amended his complaint, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and/or omission, negligent misrepresentation and/or omission, unjust enrichment, gross negligence, fraudulent concealment, violation of the Mississippi Unfair or Deceptive Acts and Practice Act, violation of Mississippi Code Annotated § 97-23-3, breach of implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing, failure to monitor and train agents, and unconscionable acts. These allegations are based upon the practice of Citizens Bank acting as an agent for Gulf Guaranty, of selling optional credit insurance policies to individuals whom are approved for a loan.

¶ 3. Morgan argues that due to his lowered mental capacity, he was unaware of his acceptance of the various insurance policies which he purchased on multiple occasions. From 1994 through 2001, Morgan applied for approximately ten loans from Citizens Bank in Columbia, Mississippi. Each of Morgan’s loan applications contained several checkboxes which he had to initial to indicate whether or not he desired to purchase credit life insurance, credit disability insurance, and/or joint credit life insurance. For each of the loans Morgan obtained, Morgan initialed the boxes stating that it was his desire to purchase credit life insurance and signed underneath.

¶ 4. On January 22, 2004, Citizens Bank and Powell filed a motion for summary judgment. Gulf Guaranty followed, filing its motion for summary judgment on January 30, 2004. The arguments presented in both motions were similar, arguing that [1135]*1135Morgan understood the terms of the agreement and that Morgan was competent to enter into such a contract. Morgan, in opposition to the defendants’s motion for summary judgment, argues that he is a mental incompetent and that although he could have read the terms of the contract, he did not have the mental capacity to understand the terms.

¶ 5. The Marion County Circuit Court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding that Morgan’s claims were subject to a three year statute of limitations in accordance with Mississippi Code Annotated § 15-1^9 (Rev. 2003). Further, the court found that there was no evidence of fraudulent concealment which would toll the three year statutory period prescribed by § 15-1-49. Based upon these findings the trial court held that any loans made prior to February 20, 1999, were time barred, as Morgan filed his complaint on February 20, 2002. Additionally, the trial court ruled that Mississippi’s rule of imputed knowledge was applicable and Morgan’s claims were therefore barred. Finally, the trial court found that there was no showing of either Citizens Bank or Powell having notice of Morgan’s alleged mental incompetence and that if a fiduciary relationship existed between the parties, the defendants had not breached the fiduciary duty.

¶ 6. Aggrieved by the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against his claims, Morgan appeals raising the following two issues:

I. WHETHER GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT EXIST AS TO MORGAN’S COMPETENCY.
II. WHETHER GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT EXIST AS TO MORGAN’S CHARGE OF FRAUDULENT CONCEALMENT.
¶ 7. Finding no error, we affirm.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

¶ 8. Morgan’s claims deal with two issues. First, Morgan addresses the effect of his mental condition in relation to his ability to execute a contract. Secondly, Morgan addresses Powell, Citizens Bank, and Gulf Guaranty’s actions, and the effects thereof, in potentially tolling the applicable limitations period. Both of these claims are appealed pursuant to the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Powell, Citizens Bank, and Gulf Guaranty and are subject to the same standard of review, listed below.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9. A trial court’s grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Satchfield v. R.R. Morrison & Son, Inc., 872 So.2d 661, 663(¶ 5) (Miss.2004) (citing Hudson v. Courtesy Motors, Inc., 794 So.2d 999, 1002(¶ 7) (Miss.2001)). In conducting this review, the facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and the existence of a genuine issue of material fact will preclude summary judgment. Hardy v. Brock, 826 So.2d 71, 74(¶ 14) (Miss.2002). In instances where disputed facts exist or where different interpretations or inferences can be drawn from undisputed facts, summary judgment is inappropriate. Johnson v. City of Cleveland, 846 So.2d 1031, 1036(¶ 14) (Miss.2003).

I. WHETHER GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT EXIST AS TO MORGAN’S COMPETENCY.

DISCUSSION

¶ 10. Morgan first contends that genuine issues of material fact exist as to his competency, thereby precluding a grant of summary judgment. Morgan argues that he is unable to contract for lack of mental capacity, due to his inability to [1136]*1136competently read and comprehend the terms of the loan documents. In support of this argument, the record contains two affidavits, one by Dr. Kevin H. Holmes, who practices internal medicine, and a second by Thomas D. Gober, who is a senior manager and director of the Fraud Examination and Forensic Accounting division of Summerford Accountancy, P.C. located in Birmingham, Alabama.

¶ 11. Dr. Holmes’s affidavit states that through his visits with Morgan, he has formed the opinion that Morgan suffers from a learning disability and possesses a low I.Q., which would prohibit his understanding of terms contained in loan documents. Gober’s affidavit states that Citizens Bank and Gulf Guaranty were involved in an abusive pattern of behavior towards Citizens Bank’s borrowers. Gober specifically lists five findings which are listed verbatim as follows:

1. Overcharging premiums for credit insurance products that were inferior to other products in the marketplace.
2. Citizens Bank failed to act with honesty and trustworthiness.
3. Citizens Bank and/or Gulf Guaranty failed to disclose to its customer that they received substantial insurance commissions for the sale of policies to which they were also a beneficiary in the event of a loss.
4. Citizens Bank and/or Gulf Guaranty took unfair advantage of its customer through the use of complex premium and interest calculations that compounded the effects of the charges to the detriment of the customer.
5. Citizens Bank repeatedly “churned” its customer’s loans to their own profit at the detriment of the customer.

¶ 12. Mississippi law has a well-established standard governing this issue, which is set forth as follows:

“In Mississippi, a person is charged with knowing the contents of any document that he executes.” Russell v. Performance Toyota, Inc.,

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912 So. 2d 1133, 2005 Miss. App. LEXIS 744, 2005 WL 2649969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgan-v-citizens-bank-missctapp-2005.