Temple-Inland Mortg. Corp. v. Jones

749 So. 2d 1161, 1999 WL 562778
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 3, 1999
Docket97-CA-01418-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 749 So. 2d 1161 (Temple-Inland Mortg. Corp. v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Temple-Inland Mortg. Corp. v. Jones, 749 So. 2d 1161, 1999 WL 562778 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

749 So.2d 1161 (1999)

TEMPLE-INLAND MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Appellant,
v.
Eddie JONES and Willie Mae Jones, Husband and Wife, Appellees.

No. 97-CA-01418-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 3, 1999.

*1162 Lem G. Adams, III, Bradley P. Jones, Brandon, Attorneys for Appellant.

William F. Riley, L.H. Rosenthal, Wanda Alexander Williams, Natchez, Attorneys for Appellees.

BEFORE KING, P.J., BRIDGES, DIAZ, AND LEE, JJ.

DIAZ, Judge, for the Court:

¶ 1. This case arises from an October 8, 1997 order of the Adams County Chancery Court finding that Eddie and Willie Mae Jones were in default on their mortgage payments to the Temple-Inland Mortgage Corporation, but that the lender failed to clarify to the borrowers the amount of the arrearage as it accrued and acted with gross indifference to and reckless disregard of their rights in handling the threatened foreclosure. The Joneses were awarded $5,000 in actual damages and $15,000 in punitive damages. Temple-Inland now asserts that the Joneses were not entitled to actual damages because they failed to state a cause of action and provided no proof of damages; the award of punitive damages was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence and unsupported by any proof of actual damages in the record; and that the chancellor erred in relying on Johnson v. Gore, 224 Miss. 600, 80 So.2d 731 (1955), as well as in finding that the lender failed to advise the Joneses of the actual amount of indebtedness and that its actions were "unconscionable and unfair and totally uncalled for," especially in light of his finding that the Joneses were in default. While we sympathize with the Joneses' plight, the record does not support the award of either actual or punitive damages. Accordingly, we affirm the chancellor's finding that the Joneses were in default on their obligation to Temple-Inland, but reverse and render the awards of actual and punitive damages.

*1163 FACTS

¶ 2. In September, 1994, Eddie and Willie Mae Jones refinanced their house in Natchez, Mississippi, by obtaining a loan from First Capital Mortgage Corporation, now Quality Mortgage USA, Inc., in the amount of $88,200. Monthly installments were payable to the servicing agent, Lomas Mortgage, USA. The Joneses apparently were delinquent in their first payment to Lomas, which should have been made in December, 1994. Their mortgage history at Lomas indicates that late charges were assessed every month between March, 1995 and January, 1996. Mr. Jones, however, testified that he only received one letter from Lomas during that time, no demand was made for the delinquent payment and his checks were accepted, regardless of whether the amount sent was adequate to cover the installment due.

¶ 3. The loan was acquired by Temple-Inland Mortgage Corporation in January, 1996. The Joneses had not yet made the $1,670.23 payment due to Lomas on January 1, 1996. Late fees in the amount of $219.90 also were carried over from Lomas to Temple-Inland. Mr. Jones indicated that he did not understand that the unpaid balance owed to Lomas was transferred to the amount owed at Temple-Inland.

¶ 4. Temple-Inland first received a check from the Joneses in the amount of $1,670.23 on February 7, 1996, which was applied to the past-due January balance. A late fee of $49.98 was posted to the account on January 15, 1996. Another late fee of $49.98 was posted on February 15, 1996 for the February payment, which was due on February 1, 1996. On February 20, 1996, Temple-Inland sent the Joneses a form letter notifying them that a late fee had been assessed because the February payment had not been received. The letter explained that a balance of $1991.81 was due, including late fees in the amount of $321.58.

¶ 5. On March 20, 1996, Temple Inland received a check from the Joneses in the amount of $1,670.23. That amount was credited to their account as the February payment. An additional late fee of $49.98 was posted on March 15, 1996, for the payment which had been due on March 1, 1996.

¶ 6. Because of adjustments in the escrow account, the April payment due was only $1,589.22. By this time, however, $3,629.29 was required to bring the Joneses' mortgage current. Temple-Inland received a payment of $1,400 from the Joneses on April 10, 1996. Because it was $270.23 short of the full payment still owed for March, the month to which it was to be credited, the monies received were placed in a suspense account. The suspense account generally is used to hold extra funds or partial payments while Temple-Inland contacts the borrower to determine where the balance is or how the additional funds are to be applied. The accrued late fee of $372.42 was paid from the suspense account on April, 16, 1996, but credited back to it on May 26, 1996.

¶ 7. The next installment of $1589.22 was due on May 1, 1996. Temple-Inland received a payment of $1,500 from the Joneses on May 15, 1996. Temple-Inland combined this with other monies in the suspense account and credited it to the Joneses' account as the March installment. At this point, the Jones had $1,178.93 in the suspense account, but were behind on their April and May installments. On May 2, 1996, Temple-Inland sent the Jones a notice of intent to foreclose, advising them that $5,828 (including the installment due June 1, 1996), was due on June 4, 1996 to make their account current. It was Temple-Inland's standard practice to send such a letter whenever a loan was between thirty and sixty days delinquent to inform the borrower of the default, advise him of the amount needed to make his account current and provide a telephone number for assistance. The notice arrived on Mrs. Jones' birthday, which, she claimed, caused her great distress.

*1164 ¶ 8. Because of a reduction in interest rates, the installment due June 1, 1996 was reduced to $1,567.69. A second notice of intent to foreclose was sent to the Joneses on June 6, 1996, advising them that $6,085.52 (including the installment due July 1, 1996) was due by July 8, 1996 to avoid foreclosure proceedings. Temple-Inland received a check from the Joneses for $1,500 on June 10, 1996. Because they were already two months in arrears and the check was less than amount of the installment owed, Temple-Inland returned that payment as well as the amount remaining in the suspense account on June 17, 1996. The note sent with the check explained that Temple-Inland was unable to accept less than the amount due and emphasized the importance of contacting the Foreclosure Department to determine the exact amount due. Once a loan was transferred from the Collections Department to the Foreclosure Department, Temple-Inland could no longer retain any partial payments for deposit into the suspense account.

¶ 9. By July 1, 1996, four installments now were due or past due, amounting to some $6,382.10, including late fees. Temple-Inland received $4,178.93 from the Joneses on July 9, 1996. From that amount, $3,178 was credited to the Joneses' account for the past-due April and May installments. Temple-Inland also deducted $473.24 in late fees as well as a $15 inspection fee. The remaining $512.25 was placed in the suspense account. The June and July installments remained unpaid.

¶ 10. When the next installment came due on August 1, 1996, the Joneses owed three installments, totaling $4,784.59. Temple-Inland received a payment of $1,567.69, which was returned to the Joneses because it was less than the amount due.

¶ 11. By September 1, 1996, the Joneses owed four installments of $1,567.69, totaling $6,270.76.

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Bluebook (online)
749 So. 2d 1161, 1999 WL 562778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/temple-inland-mortg-corp-v-jones-missctapp-1999.