Texas Finance & Thift Ass'n v. State

224 S.W.2d 522, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 2207
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 4, 1949
DocketNo. 14090
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 224 S.W.2d 522 (Texas Finance & Thift Ass'n v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Finance & Thift Ass'n v. State, 224 S.W.2d 522, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 2207 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

YOUNG, Justice.

The appeal is from an order of February 21, 1949, granting temporary injunction, after a hearing, under authority of Art. 4646b, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St., commonly referred to as the Anti-Usury Injunction Law. In interest of brevity, reference is made to Watts v. Mann, Tex.Civ.App., 187 S.W.2d 917, writ refused, for text of the statute, in which instance it was -held constitutional.

As basis for invoking provisions of aforesaid statute, appellee, the State, through Dallas County District Attorney, in petition filed February 2, 1949, alleged five separate violations as related to three individual borrowers, involving (1) the sum of $25, for which loan defendant required a return of $34.50 within 3½ months in six payments of $5.75 each; (2) of $35, for which defendant required a return of $48 over ⅛⅜ months in six installments of $8 each; (3) of $10, for which sum defendant required a return of $15 within 2½ months in four payments of $3.75 each; (4) of $25, for 'which defendant required in return the sum of $34.50 in 3⅛ months; and (5)' of '$35, for which defendant required the borrower to repay the sum of $48 in six páyments of $8 each within 3½ months.

Although not specifically alleged in the State’s petition, the- controversy centers around defendant’s method of businéss in that above borrowers were required to pay for life and disability insurance, policies in each case'being issued and retained- by the* company, premiums for which ($3.90 for above $10 loan; $8.10 for each of the [523]*523$25 loans; and $1L'65 and $11.45 respectively for the" two loans of $35 each) were added to the séveral 90-day notes bearing 10 percent interest' from date. In this connection the court fouild that such “collateral sale or pretended sale by the defendant to borrowers of life, health and accident insurance is actually a subterfuge and scheme for collecting additional interest and consideration from borrowers over and above the ten- per centum per annum allowed by law * * *.”

Along with their executed notes and statement of borrowers (Regulation Form W), the three complainants, in testimony, recognized their signatures on applications for insurance to City National Life Insurance Company; claiming not to know, or not having any opportunity to read the papers they were required to sign, or that an insurance premium was figured into such transaction. However, one witness, Miss Crotty, testified to seeing a sign “down there that loans are protected by insurance,” and that in earlier dealings with defendant she was told that they carried "health and accident insurance, that it paid off in case of death.”

L. R. Polan, defendant’s supervisor, on the other hand, testified that his company issued and sold life and disability insurance covering its loans and borrowers; , he having a license to sell insurance from the State Board and a contract with Credit Life Insurance Agency. He stated that it was not necessarily the office, practice to sell insurance with each loan; just not requiring purchase of insurance where “we think it would be a good risk without it”; that borrowers are informed, both personally and by signs in the office, that all loans are insured; that the policy was made out simultaneously with execution of note, copy sent to City National Life Insurance Company, original kept. in office; amount of premiums in all cases (and with especial reference to the five transactions in question) being paid over by check to aforesaid insurance company. He further testified that defendant did not receive anything from either the Credit Life Insurance Agency or 'City National Life Insurance Company by reason of sale of these policies; that he received a commission from .'Credit‘ Life Insurance Agency at end of each year for his work in selling their insurance; also a bonus from Texas Finance & Thrift Association covering the same interval, but that no money changed hands between witness and defendant' "because of the sale of insurance policies.”

M. E. Martindale, Assistant Secretary to the Texas Board of Insurance Commissioners, testified that he had made some investigation of premium rates and charges relative to life, health and accident insurance companies; that the kind of policy in evidence was known as “credit insurance,” and at time such policies were written there were no insurance regulations governing their rates; that, in his opinion, premiums charged in the instant cases were high,

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Bluebook (online)
224 S.W.2d 522, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 2207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-finance-thift-assn-v-state-texapp-1949.