Rankin v. American General Finance, Inc.

912 So. 2d 725, 2005 WL 487465
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 3, 2005
Docket2003-CA-02615-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 912 So. 2d 725 (Rankin v. American General Finance, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rankin v. American General Finance, Inc., 912 So. 2d 725, 2005 WL 487465 (Mich. 2005).

Opinion

912 So.2d 725 (2005)

Sharon RANKIN, Carolyn Banks and Laura Johnson
v.
AMERICAN GENERAL FINANCE, INC.

No. 2003-CA-02615-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 3, 2005.

Richard Arthur Freese, Stephanie M. Daughdrill, Tim K. Goss, Dallas, TX, attorneys for appellants.

E. Barney Robinson, III, Charles E. Griffin, Lee Davis Thames, Jackson, Dan K. Webb, Chicago, IL, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

*726 WALLER, Presiding Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Sharon Rankin, Carolyn Banks, and Laura Johnson (Plaintiffs) appeal from the Jefferson County Circuit Court's order denying their Motion to Alter or Amend the Summary Judgment which dismissed their complaint and action against American General Finance, Inc.[1] Plaintiffs argue material facts remained in issue regarding their claims against American General for damages resulting from an alleged fraudulent lending scheme; and therefore, the trial court erred in denying their motion. We affirm the Jefferson County Circuit Court's order denying the Motion to Alter or Amend the Summary Judgment.

FACTS

¶ 2. The three plaintiffs in this action have each received a loan from American General and purchased various credit insurance products in connection with the loan. Rankin received her loan June 23, 1994; Banks received her loan August 4, 1995; and Johnson received her loan January 18, 1994. On May 28, 1999, Plaintiffs filed suit against American General, listing eight counts in their complaint, including: (1) breach of fiduciary duties, (2) breach of implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing, (3) fraudulent misrepresentation and/or omission; (4) negligent misrepresentation and/or omission, (5) civil conspiracy ["to sell credit life, credit disability, property and/or collateral protection insurance to Plaintiffs that was unnecessary and at an exorbitant premium far in excess of the market rate"], (6) negligence, and (7) unconscionability. Unless it is tolled, the statute of limitations on all of the claims asserted by the Plaintiffs is three years or less and had therefore run by the time Plaintiffs filed suit. See Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-49 (Rev.2003).

¶ 3. American General subsequently removed the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on the basis that Plaintiffs' claims required construction of the federal Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq. (1994)(TILA). Plaintiffs moved to remand the case to state court stating, "Plaintiffs' claims are brought solely under Mississippi law, and [P]laintiffs state that they do not bring any claims and disclaim any and all claims under any federal laws[.]" Numerous times in their motion, Plaintiffs reiterated that their claims were totally independent of federal law and particularly disclaimed any reliance on TILA. For example, the Plaintiffs stated:

There is absolutely no allegation in the Complaint which could possibly be construed to be a federal claim . . . By excluding any federal claims, Plaintiffs may run the risk of being unable to bring these claims at a later date, but that is the Plaintiffs' decision.
In the absence of allegations alleging a violation of federal laws, [d]efendants wrongly claim that Plaintiffs' Complaint asserts claims which require the construction of TILA. This is simply not true. The Complaint contains no allegation that [d]efendants violated any provision of TILA or any other specific federal disclosure law. Plaintiffs' Complaint depends solely on analysis of state laws[.]

¶ 4. They added, "Plaintiffs have no intention of relying on TILA and concede that this action would become removable if Plaintiffs later chose to do so." And as if to eliminate all doubt as to whether there *727 was any basis in federal law for the Plaintiffs' claims, they emphatically stated, "These claims do not require any analysis of federal law and are not sufficient to invoke federal jurisdiction." (emphasis added).

¶ 5. The federal district court held

While it appears that the viability of some of the [P]laintiffs' claims under Mississippi state law is questionable, the [P]laintiffs adamantly and consistently maintain, in both their Complaint and memoranda in support of remand, that their claims will succeed or fail on the basis of state law alone. Accordingly, the [c]ourt finds that the [P]laintiffs' [M]otion to [R]emand is well-taken and shall be granted, with the understanding that, should the [P]laintiffs subsequently attempt to utilize the TILA as a basis for any of their claims, the defendants shall be entitled to removal at that time.

Rankin v. Am. Gen. Fin., Inc., No. 5:99cv135BrS (S.D.Miss. Mar. 29, 2000)(order granting Motion to Remand).

¶ 6. After remand to the Jefferson County Circuit Court, American General filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing the statute of limitations barred all of Plaintiffs' claims. In Plaintiffs' forty-seven page response to American General's motion, they made numerous arguments supporting their claims and concluded with the bare contention that "American General has failed to even address Plaintiffs' breach of contract and usury claims. Consequently summary judgment cannot be granted on those claims."[2] The learned circuit judge granted summary judgment, explaining in his order that since Plaintiffs did not plead with particularity their claims of fraudulent misrepresentation, they could not toll the running of the statute of limitations, and all of their claims were consequently barred.

¶ 7. In response, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment, arguing the court failed to address the material facts relating to their usury claim. Relying on a combination of federal TILA regulations and state law, Plaintiffs demanded the judgment be "altered or amended to permit Plaintiffs to proceed to trial on their unchallenged usury claim." In response to American General's argument that Plaintiffs had not previously asserted their TILA-based usury claim, Plaintiffs stated they were "not asserting a TILA claim[,] but rather a claim for excessive finance charges under Mississippi law." The circuit court denied Plaintiffs' motion and reiterated its holding that the statute of limitations had expired, and summary judgment was therefore proper as to all claims. Plaintiffs then appealed to this Court.

ANALYSIS

¶ 8. When appealing a motion to alter or amend, a party may only obtain relief upon showing: (1) an intervening change in controlling law, (2) availability of new evidence not previously available, or (3) the need to correct a clear error of law or to prevent manifest injustice. Brooks v. Roberts, 882 So.2d 229, 233 (Miss.2004) (citing Bang v. Pittman, 749 So.2d 47, 52-53 (Miss.1999)). We review a trial court's denial of a Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 59 motion for abuse of discretion. Brooks, 882 So.2d at 233 (citing Bang, 749 So.2d at 52).

¶ 9. Plaintiffs allege the circuit court abused its discretion in denying their Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment, raising three issues: (1) whether, based on the mandates of TILA, a material fact *728

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Bluebook (online)
912 So. 2d 725, 2005 WL 487465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rankin-v-american-general-finance-inc-miss-2005.