Ramadan v. Chase Manhattan Corp.

229 F.3d 194, 2000 WL 1478535
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedOctober 6, 2000
Docket99-5709
StatusUnknown
Cited by1 cases

This text of 229 F.3d 194 (Ramadan v. Chase Manhattan Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ramadan v. Chase Manhattan Corp., 229 F.3d 194, 2000 WL 1478535 (3d Cir. 2000).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

SCIRICA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires us to apply the Truth in Lending Act’s assignee liability provisions in light of contract language required by regulatory fiat and to determine the parameters of assignee liability under the TILA. Asserting a violation of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., plaintiff alleges she was harmed by deceptive lending practices of a dealer from whom she purchased an automobile. Plaintiff seeks to recover against Hyundai Motor Finance Co., the assignee of her finance agreement, rather than against the automobile dealer. Three Circuit Courts of Appeals have encountered nearly identical TILA claims and all have concluded plaintiffs could not state a claim.1 Following those courts, the District Court granted Hyundai’s motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). We will affirm.

I.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over a district court’s order dismissing a complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). See, e.g., Port Authority v. Arcadian Corp., 189 F.3d 305, 311 (3d Cir.1999); Alexander v. Whitman, 114 F.3d 1392, 1397-98 (3d Cir.1997). In conducting our review, we must

determine if plaintiff may be entitled to relief under any reasonable reading of the pleadings, assuming the truth of all the factual allegations in the complaint. ... A court may dismiss a complaint only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proven consistent with the allegations.

[196]*196Alexander, 114 F.3d at 1398 (citations omitted).

II.

As noted by the District Court, the facts in this case are uncomplicated.2 Ramadan purchased a used Hyundai for $4,238.50 from automobile dealer Bob Ciasulli, Inc.3 Plaintiff also purchased an extended warranty contract for $998.00. Because she purchased on credit, the sale was achieved through a Retail Installment Contract (“RIC”)-4 Hyundai provided the RIC form to the dealer. Contemporaneous with its execution, the RIC was assigned to Hyundai Motor Finance Corp.

At the time the RIC was assigned to Hyundai, other loan documents were also transmitted, among them an accounting of payments made under the RIC, which plaintiff alleges “reveal the true cost of the warranty, the actual amount paid to the issuer and the payment of the undisclosed finder’s fee.” Compl. at ¶ 29. Plaintiff also alleges Hyundai “issue[d] the checks or credits in payment for the warranty and in payment for the commission or finder’s fee.” Id.

The RIC contained a provision which itemized “Other Charges Including Amounts Paid to Others on Your Behalf’ and stated $998.00 had been paid for a service contract. Ramadan alleges an undisclosed amount of that figure was retained by the dealer without her knowledge in violation of the TILA. Given the nature of review of a motion made under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), we must accept plaintiffs assertion as true.

Central to this case are two provisions— TILA’s assignee liability rule and a Holder Notice required by Federal Trade Commission regulations. The TILA section which governs assignee liability provides:

Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, any civil action for a violation of this subchapter ... which may be brought against a creditor may be maintained against any assignee of such creditor only if the violation for which such action or proceeding is brought is apparent on the face of the disclosure statement, except where the assignment was involuntary. For the purposes of this section, a violation apparent on the face of the disclosure statement includes, but is not limited to (1) a disclosure which can be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the disclosure statement or other documents assigned, or (2) a disclosure which does not use the terms required to be used by this subchapter.

15 U.S.C. § 1641(a) (emphasis added). In accord with FTC rules, see 16 C.F.R. § 433.2(a) (1997), the RIC also contained a Holder Notice, which stated:

NOTICE: ANY HOLDER OF THIS CONSUMER CREDIT CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES WHICH THE DEBTOR COULD ASSERT AGAINST THE SELLER OF GOODS AND SERVICES OBTAINED PURSUANT HERETO OR WITH THE PROCEEDS HEREOF. RECOVERY HEREUNDER BY THE DEBTOR SHALL NOT EXCEED AMOUNTS [197]*197PAID BY THE DEBTOR HEREUNDER.

The proper understanding of these two provisions lies at the heart of this ease. Holding the TILA assignee liability provision rather than the Holder Notice governed the action, the District Court held plaintiff could not state a claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1641(a) because there was no “violation apparent on the face of the disclosure document.” See Ramadan v. Chase Manhattan Corp., No. 96-3791, slip op. at 6-8 (D.N.J. Aug.4, 1999). Lacking guidance from our circuit, the District Court adopted the views of the three United States Courts of Appeal that have addressed similar claims. The Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Eleventh and Fifth Circuits have all concluded in situations similar to those presented here that an assignee could not be held liable under the TILA. See Green, 179 F.3d at 286; Ellis, 160 F.3d at 703; Taylor, 150 F.3d at 689.5

III.

Ramadan contends § 1641(a) encompasses her claim that the TILA violation here was apparent on the face of the disclosure statement as that concept is statutorily defined. She also asserts Hyundai is liable because it expressly assumed as-signee liability by including the Holder Notice clause in the RIC.

A.

As noted, the TILA imposes assignee liability only if a violation is “apparent on the face of the disclosure statement.” Section 1641(a) further explains: “a violation apparent on the face of the disclosure statement includes, but is not limited to (1) a disclosure which can be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the disclosure statement or other documents assigned, or (2) a disclosure which does not use the terms required to be used by this subchapter.” 15 U.S.C. § 1641(a). Ramadan never alleged the TILA violation was apparent on the face of the RIC.

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229 F.3d 194, 2000 WL 1478535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramadan-v-chase-manhattan-corp-ca3-2000.