Noble Company v. Mack Financial Corporation

264 A.2d 325, 107 R.I. 12, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 842, 1970 R.I. LEXIS 731
CourtSupreme Court of Rhode Island
DecidedApril 16, 1970
Docket775-Appeal
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 264 A.2d 325 (Noble Company v. Mack Financial Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Noble Company v. Mack Financial Corporation, 264 A.2d 325, 107 R.I. 12, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 842, 1970 R.I. LEXIS 731 (R.I. 1970).

Opinion

*13 Roberts, C. J.

This civil action was brought to enjoin the sale at public auction of two motor vehicles and to pray for an adjudication by the court of the validity of a security interest held by the plaintiff in the two trucks.

It appears that The Noble Company, hereinafter referred to as plaintiff, sold to A B C Truck Rentals, Inc., hereinafter referred to as Truck Rentals, three Autocar trucks, receiving in payment therefor three promissory notes in the amount of $6,000 each, a chattel mortgage, and a security agreement. It is not disputed that a financing statement was never filed. Subsequently Truck Rentals traded two of the Autocar trucks to Mack Trucks, Inc. as part of the purchase price on two new Mack trucks. It further appears that plaintiff agreed conditionally to this sale, the conditions being that Truck Rentals obtain a loan from the Small Business Administration and that it apply the proceeds received from the operation of the two Mack trucks to its indebtedness to plaintiff. The plaintiff alleges that Mack Trucks, Inc. was aware of this consent and of its conditional nature.

The two Mack trucks sold to Truck Rentals were eventually repossessed by Mack Financial Corporation, hereinafter referred to as defendant, the assignee of a security agreement between Truck Rentals and Mack Trucks, Inc. The defendant ultimately held a foreclosure sale, at which the two repossessed trucks were sold, and plaintiff is now *14 claiming- that it has a security interest in the two trucks superior to that of defendant.

The defendant had moved to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12 (b) (6) of the Rules of Civil Procedure of the Superior Court, contending that plaintiff had failed to state a claim in its complaint upon which relief could be granted, and contending further that, by consenting to the trade-in of the two Autocar trucks, plaintiff waiyed any security interest it had therein. After a hearing, plaintiff’s motion for an order restraining the sale of the trucks at public auction was not granted, but an order was entered stating that the rights of the parties would not be altered by the sale and that such rights as plaintiff might have, if any, would attach to the proceeds' of the sale of the Mack trucks. The sale was held as scheduled, and thereafter defendant filed an accounting showing a deficiency balance. A hearing was held subsequently on the motion of defendant to dismiss the action for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, and the court granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice. The plaintiff is now in this court prosecuting its appeal from the judgment of dismissal.

Rule 12 (b) (6) provides for the dismissal of a pleading where there has been a “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” This court in Bragg v. Warwick Shoppers World, Inc., 102 R. I. 8, 227 A.2d 582, stated its, intention to follow the rule set out in Garcia v. Hilton Hotels International, Inc., 97 F. Supp. 5. In Bragg we said: “In determining whether there is such a doubt or lack of certainty as will justify a termination of litigation at this stage’ of the pleadings, we follow the federal rule •» -x- *■ an¿ we construe the complaint fin the light most favorable to the plaintiff with all doubts resolved in his favor' and the allegations accepted as true;’ ” 102 R. I. at 12, 227 A.2d at 584. As stated in Garcia, at page 8-, citing *15 2 Moore’s Federal Practice (2d ed.) ¶8.13, p. 1653, now 2A Moore, Federal Practice ¶8.13, at 1705-06 (2d ed. 1968): “* * * 'the courts have ruled time and again that a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim should not be granted unless it appears to a certainty that the plaintiff would be entitled to no relief under any state of facts which could be proved in support of his claim. If, within the framework of the complaint, evidence may be introduced which will sustain a grant of relief to the plaintiff, the complaint is sufficient.’ ”

We turn, then, to consider whether the complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted within the meaning of the rule laid down in Garcia. Paragraph (6) of the complaint reads as follows: “Plaintiff consented to the sale by A B C Truck Rentals, Inc. to Mack Trucks, Inc. of the two trucks referred to in paragraph 5 hereof and subject to an unrecorded security agreement, and did not record a Financial Statement with respect thereto upon the condition that ABC Truck Rentals,' Inc. obtain' a $20,000. loan from the Small Business Administration and also use the proceeds resulting from the operation of the new trucks purchased from Mack Trucks, Inc. to reduce its indebtedness to plaintiff.” Paragraph (8) of the complaint is also significant and reads as follows: “Plaintiff, on information and belief, states that defendant before its sale of Mack trucks, serial numbers DM811 SX1700 and DM811 SX1701, was aware of the conditions upon which title to Autocar trucks, numbers DC 103 SN S52591-1962 and DC 103 SN S51163, was transferred from plaintiff to ABC Truck Rentals, Inc.”

The trial justice in his decision held as a matter of law that the consent to the sale, even though conditional, was not a conditional transfer of title in the sense that there was any security interest retained in those trucks. The trial justice stated that the consent to the sale released *16 whatever security interest plaintiff may have had and that Mack was entitled to act upon this and that there should be no revesting of the security interest of plaintiff. The trial justice further stated that the failure of Truck Rentals to perform the conditions of its agreement with plaintiff was a breach of promise but that this did not revest the security interest.

The thrust of plaintiff’s argument is that the complaint discloses that it gave its consent to Truck Rentals to sell the Autocar trucks conditionally and that Mack was aware of this condition. The plaintiff reasons that it has alleged and can establish a valid security agreement existing between it and Truck Rentals and that Mack took the two trucks with full notice of the existence of this security agreement. It is further argued by plaintiff that on the basis of the allegations of the complaint, it could have produced evidence to show that the consent given to Truck Rentals to sell the Autocars, because it was conditional, did not constitute per se a waiver of plaintiff’s security interest in those trucks.

The plaintiff further argues that at trial it could produce evidence within the framework of the complaint tending to establish that, insofar as the parties hereto are concerned, a valid security agreement existed and that defendant took the two Mack trucks subject to the security interest of plaintiff. It is to be noted that neither party has cited any case that would be helpful in determining this issue, nor have we in our own research found any such case. It is, therefore, necessary to seek to resolve the issue raised here by an examination of the pertinent provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in this state.

The provisions of chap.

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Bluebook (online)
264 A.2d 325, 107 R.I. 12, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 842, 1970 R.I. LEXIS 731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/noble-company-v-mack-financial-corporation-ri-1970.