Sogelease Corp. v. McGehee Publishing Co.

704 F. Supp. 892, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15389, 1988 WL 144981
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedAugust 26, 1988
DocketNo. PB-C-85-558
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 704 F. Supp. 892 (Sogelease Corp. v. McGehee Publishing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sogelease Corp. v. McGehee Publishing Co., 704 F. Supp. 892, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15389, 1988 WL 144981 (E.D. Ark. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

OREN HARRIS, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff brings this action for recovery of the unpaid balance it claims McGehee Publishing Company, Inc., owes under the terms of a Security Agreement and Conditional Sales Contract entered into by the parties on August 29, 1984. Upon agreement of the parties, this case was tried to the Court, without the intercession of a jury, on June 8, 1988, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Court now renders its decision in the matter.

This is a diversity case. Plaintiff is a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware, with its principal place of business in New York City, New York. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Societe Generale, a banking institution headquartered in Paris, France. Defendant McGehee Publishing Company, Inc., is an Arkansas corporation with its principal place of business in Desha County, Arkansas. Defendant James P. White, Sr., is a resident of Desha County, Arkansas. Defendant First National Bank of McGehee is a national banking association with its principal place of business in Desha County, Arkansas. The amount in controversy exceeds $10,000.00, so this Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

On August 29, 1984, Jim Grahn, a sales representative for The KIS Corporation (KIS), contacted defendant White, president of McGehee Publishing Company, Inc. (McGehee), about purchasing a Photokis mini-lab. This product, manufactured by KIS, rapidly develops and processes rolls of film. Relying on representations made by Grahn concerning the profit-making ability of the equipment, White agreed to make the purchase. Grahn produced a “Security Agreement and Conditional Sales Contract” form which bore plaintiffs name and logo. White signed this document, along with a personal guaranty which also bore plaintiffs name and logo. In addition, White signed a KIS customer order form which purportedly contains contractual terms on the reverse side, but a copy of the reverse side was not introduced into evidence. McGehee made a down payment of $1816.60, leaving an unpaid balance of $34,-589.08. McGehee’s total obligation, or time balance payable, was $48,293.40, which was to be paid in sixty monthly installments beginning January 14, 1985.

The equipment was delivered to McGehee in November 1984, but neither McGehee nor White made any of the installment payments. White testified that the equipment was in operation for four or five months, but McGehee stopped using it when it did not make enough money to meet expenses. Plaintiff took possession of the equipment in March 1986. By a letter dated October 3, 1986, plaintiffs counsel notified White and his counsel that the equipment would be sold at a private sale “at any time after November 3, 1986.” On December 15, 1986, plaintiff sold the equipment to KIS for $14,412.80. This amount was credited to McGehee’s balance payable, leaving an outstanding balance of $27,880.60.1 Neither McGehee nor White have made any payments to plaintiff, so plaintiff brings this action seeking to recover $48,293.40, which is the full amount owed by McGehee.

Plaintiff has also named as a defendant the First National Bank of McGehee, ask[895]*895ing that the Court declare plaintiffs interest in the collateral superior to any claim the bank may make pursuant to a financing statement and security agreement filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State. This issue, however, was not mentioned at trial, and the parties have not discussed it in the briefs submitted to the Court.

It appears that this case presents three basic issues for consideration: (1) whether plaintiff and KIS are related entities, (2) whether Grahn was acting as plaintiffs agent, and (3) whether the sale of the equipment was “commercially reasonable” under § 9-504(l)(c) of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Under the terms of the Security Agreement and Conditional Sales Contract, the laws of the state of New York govern this action.

I. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLAINTIFF AND KIS

Defendants, in their original answer, stated a belief that plaintiff and KIS are related entities. White continued to express this position in his testimony at trial. The bases for this belief seem to be (1) that Grahn was carrying plaintiffs financing forms when he contacted White, and that Grahn stated “my company will handle the financing;” (2) that the Security Agreement and Conditional Sales Contract refers to plaintiff as the “seller;” and (3) Grahn’s testimony that, at the time he began working for KIS, he was told that the “owner” of KIS was on the board of directors of Societe Generale, plaintiffs parent organization, and that there was “a sort of brother-in-law relationship” between KIS and plaintiff.

This relationship is important because if the two are so closely associated as to be, in effect, one entity, plaintiff would be in the position of a seller of goods, and Chapter 2 of the UCC would apply. If, on the other hand, plaintiff and KIS are not considered a single entity, and plaintiff is found to be only a secured party, Chapter 9 of the Code would apply to this case. The Court finds that the latter view is correct.

The Court sees no significance in the fact that Grahn possessed plaintiffs forms. Grahn testified that he carried forms for several finance companies in order to expedite the financing of equipment he sold. Grahn also testified that he did not specifically remember saying “my company will handle the financing,” but that if he did say it, he meant only that KIS had means of financing available through finance companies. The Court accepts this explanation as being true, and Grahn’s alleged statement in no way establishes a connection between plaintiff and KIS other than a normal business relationship.

Next, the Court must consider the designation of plaintiff as “seller” in the Security Agreement and Conditional Sales Contract. McGehee is designated as “buyer” in the agreement. Plaintiff contends that, under New York law, the designation of a finance agency as a “seller” in a security agreement does not affect its status under the UCC.

Section 2-103 of the UCC defines “seller” as “a person who sells or contracts to sell goods.”2 Section 2-104 of the UCC defines a “financing agency” as:

... a bank, finance company, or other person who in the ordinary course of business makes advances against goods or documents of title or who by arrangement with either the seller or the buyer intervenes in ordinary course to make or collect payment due or claimed under the contract for sale, as by purchasing or paying the seller’s draft or making advances against it or by merely taking it for collection whether or not documents of title accompany the draft.

In order to determine whether plaintiff was acting as a seller or as a financing agency, the Court must “look through” the form of the security agreement and examine the intent of the parties and the circumstances which existed at the time of the [896]*896agreement. In re Sherwood Diversified Services, Inc., 382 F.Supp. 1359 (S.D.N.Y.1974). Plaintiff contends, and the testimony showed, that plaintiff does not sell, manufacture, or contract to sell goods of any kind, and it employs no salesmen. It only provides financing for the purchase of goods. The Court has no difficulty in concluding that plaintiff is a financing agency, and not a seller under the UCC.

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Bluebook (online)
704 F. Supp. 892, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15389, 1988 WL 144981, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sogelease-corp-v-mcgehee-publishing-co-ared-1988.