Peoples Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Roberts

5 Ohio N.P. 86
CourtShelby County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedJanuary 8, 1898
StatusPublished

This text of 5 Ohio N.P. 86 (Peoples Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Shelby County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peoples Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Roberts, 5 Ohio N.P. 86 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1898).

Opinion

RICHIE, J.

This action was brought by the plaintiff against Henry C. Roberts and his wife,and others, for the foreclosure of a mortgage executed by Roberts and wife to the plaintiff upon real estate in the petition described, to secure a loan by plaintiff to Henry O. Roberts of 83,500.00 made on the 22nd day of January, 1895, payable .m monthly installments for a period of one hundred and twenty months, of 843.75 each.

[87]*87The defendant, Henry C. Roberts, filed his answer to said petition in which he admits the loan to him, the execution of the bond and mortgage described in Plaintiffs petition, and sets out the payments made by him upon the same. He also attaches to his answer the provisions of the constitution and by-laws of the plaintiff association, which confer the authority to make such loan.

“ In his answer Roberts avers that said loan was usurious in this; that it charged as interest and premium a sum which is in excess of the interest allowed by the laws of Ohio; .and that such loan was usurious for the reason that “no premium was ever bid for or in connection with the procuring of ¡said loan.”

The provisions of the constitution and by-laws attached to the answer, are, by express averment,made a part thereof; and in argument they are by counsel for both plaintiff and defendant conceded to be parts of said answer.

Section 27 of the by-laws which provides for monthly loans and installments due thereon contains this provision: “Said installments on such loan shall include the interest and premium that might otherwise be bid by the' borrower.” etc., etc.

Upon a copy of the bond set out in the answer is a table denominated “Redemption Table” upon the basis of a loan of §1,000.00, showing the amount of each payment applied, fivst to -“interest and premium”, second, the credit on-principal, third, the total credit on principal after each payment is so applied, and fourth, the balance due on principal after each payment is made,for the entire period of one hundred and twenty months. Below this table is a stipulation signed by the defendant, Henry C. Roberts, the first provision of which is “It is hereby agreed that the several monthly installments by which this loan is to be paid shall be apportioned to principal, interest and premium as shown in above table.”

The answer asks that an account be taken of the amount due, the usurious contract set aside, and he be charged with interest upon the loan at six per cent, per annum, after deducting the payments made.

To his answer the plaintiff has interposed a general demurrer.

The contention of the defendant is that the plaintiff could not, under the statutes, although the constitution and by-laws of the corporation contains ample authority, charge against the defendant, any sum as premium unless the sum so charged had been bid by the defendant as a premium for such loan, and cites in support of his contention, Ohio v. Peoples etc. Association, 29 Ohio St., 92; Ohio v. Oberlin B. & L. Association, 35 Ohio St., 258 and Bates v. Peoples etc., Association, 42 Ohio St., 655.

The contention of the plaintiff is that the decision of the supreme court in the cases relied upon by the defendant involved a •construction of a statute so widely different from the provisions of the statute in force at the time that this loan was made as to make those decisions inapplicable to the case at bar.

The original statute passed May 5th, 1868 O. L. V. 65, 173, S. & S. 194, being sec. 3833 Rev. Stat., 1880, provides that such a corporation “may levy, assess and collect from its members such sums of money, by rates of stated dues, fines, and interest on loans advanced, and premiums bid by members or depositors for the right of precedence in taking loans as the corporation, by its by-laws shall provide.” This statute remained m force until the amendment of May 8th, 1886, by which it was provided that such corporation “may levy, assess and collect from its members such sums of money, by rates of stated dues,, fines, interest and premiums on loans, or may otherwise raise money, as the corporation by its constitution and by-laws shall provide.” 83 O. L. 116.

This amendment retained the following-provision contained in the original statute: “But the dues, fines,and premiums so paid by its members or depositors, although in addition to the legal rate of interest on loans’taken by it, shall not be construed to make the loans so taken usurious.”

By the amendment of this, statute of May 1st, 1891, O. L. V. 88, p. 469, Bates R. S. 1897. (3836-3), under the sub head of “Powers”, the corporation is authoirzed “to assess and collect from members and depositors such dues, fines, interest and premium on loans made, or other assessments, as may be provided for in the constitution and by-laws.” And in lieu of the saving clause against usury the provision is “Such dues, fines, premiums or other assessments shall not be deemed usury, although in excess of the legal rate of interest. ”

The right of such corporation to a premium under the original section, and as the law stood up to May 8th, 1886, and the amount of such premium depended entirely upon the borrower. The corporation could not fix a premium which would bind those who desired to obtain a loan from the funds of the corporation. The statute gave to the corporation no power to fix premiums. All it could do was to offer its money and the ] amount bid as a premium by the borrower ¡ fixed the amount of the premium. The [ premium was not upon the money to be loaned, but was for the sole purpose of securing the right to first obtain the money offered. Under this provision of the statute the Supreme Court in 29 Ohio St., 92; 35 Ohio St., 258, and 42 Ohio St., 655, properly held that no premium could be assessed by the corporation; and that no sum could be charged by it, as premium, in excess of the sum actually bid by a borrower, “for the right of precedence in taking a loan, at a competitive sale of such right.” Sec. 3d, Syllabi, Bates v. People, etc., association, 42 Ohio St., 655.

If these decisions of the Supreme Court [88]*88furnish a basis for a construction of the statute as amended May 8th, 1886, and May 1st, 1891, which is now in force, there can be but little doubt as to the sum charged as premium in this case being usurious; for no claim is made by the plaintiff in argument that any sum was bid as a premium for the right of precedence in securing the loan, and the answer avers that no such bid was in fact made ; and this averment is admitted by the demurrer to be true.

Under the original statute upon which these decisions are based, the corporation might “levy, assess and collect from its members such sums of money, (1) hy rates of stated dues, (2) fines, (3) interest on loans advanced, and (4) premiums bid by members or. depositors for the right of precedence in taking loans. ” The corporation, under these provisions of the statute, had the right (1) to fix the “rate of stated dues; (2) the amount of “fines” and (3) the rate of “interest,” within the limits prescribed by the statutes fixing the rates of interest in Ohio: And it might “levy, assess and collect” these sums.

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5 Ohio N.P. 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peoples-savings-loan-assn-v-roberts-ohctcomplshelby-1898.