United Counties Trust Co. v. Mac Lum, Inc.

643 F.2d 1140, 31 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 401, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 13681
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMay 1, 1981
DocketNo. 78-2451
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 643 F.2d 1140 (United Counties Trust Co. v. Mac Lum, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Counties Trust Co. v. Mac Lum, Inc., 643 F.2d 1140, 31 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 401, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 13681 (5th Cir. 1981).

Opinions

RONEY, Circuit Judge:

This is a diversity action brought by a New Jersey bank, United Counties Trust Company, against Ollie’s Trolley, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mac Lum, Inc., for breach of a lease for restaurant equipment. United Counties’ principal challenge on appeal is the district court’s grant of Ollie’s and Mac Lum’s motion for summary judgment. The motion for summary judgment presented a difficult choice of laws issue. Holding the district court made a proper choice of law and correctly decided the motion in Ollie’s and Mac Lum’s favor, we affirm.

United Counties also appeals from the district court’s judgment (1) dismissing its original and amended complaints against Mac Lum; and (2) denying its motion to remand the action to a state court. Without further discussion, we uphold the district court’s rulings on these points for the reasons stated by the district court.

This litigation arises out of a transaction between Ollie’s Trolley, Inc., a Kentucky corporation having its principal place of business in Louisville, Kentucky, and Intercontinental Leasing Corporation, a New Jersey corporation with its principal place of business in that state. On September 23, 1975, Ollie’s and Intercontinental executed a sale-leaseback agreement in which Ollie’s sold Intercontinental certain restaurant fixtures and equipment located in one of Ollie’s restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia. The sales price was $95,000. As part of the arrangement, Intercontinental agreed to lease the equipment back to Ollie’s for monthly rental payments over a period of eighty-five months. According to Ollie’s president, Carroll Ladt, the purpose of the transaction was to free Ollie’s capital invested in the equipment so that the money could be invested elsewhere in the firm’s business.

Pursuant to the agreement, a bill of sale, an equipment lease, and other related documents were executed by Ollie’s at its offices in Kentucky and transmitted to Intercontinental in New Jersey. The agreement provided that New York law would govern the transaction. There was, however, no connection between New York and the parties, the transaction, or the equipment. The lease also included a “waiver of defense” clause in which the lessee agreed not to assert against the lessor’s assignee any claim or defense which the lessee may have had against the lessor.1

[1142]*1142The sale-leaseback transaction was “accepted” by Intercontinental in New Jersey on October 1, 1975. On the same day, Intercontinental assigned the lease to Springfield State Bank of Springfield, New Jersey, which received and accepted the assignment on October 24.

Expecting immediate payment, Ladt of Ollie’s made numerous telephone calls to Intercontinental during October seeking the funds. Officials at Intercontinental referred Ladt to Springfield Bank, whose president assured him that Intercontinental was a reputable company and that he was confident payment would be forthcoming. On October 29, Springfield deposited the funds to the account of Intercontinental. Despite several calls by Ladt after October 29 to both Intercontinental and Springfield Bank, neither party told him the bank had made this funds transfer to Intercontinental, and both continued to assure him that payment would soon be tendered.

When payment had not been received by January 6, 1976, Ollie’s informed Springfield Bank and Intercontinental the transaction was terminated. Shortly thereafter, the Springfield Bank failed. United Counties acquired its assets and then brought this action for Ollie’s refusal to make the payments required by the lease.

In defense of its refusal to make these rental payments, Ollie’s claimed a failure of consideration by Intercontinental. It is undisputed that Intercontinental failed to pay Ollie’s the sales price for the equipment in compliance with the sale-leaseback agreement and that Springfield knew the equipment had not been paid for when it accepted the lease. The issue to be decided, then, is whether Ollie’s may assert this defense against Springfield, assignee of the lease, and United Counties, successor in interest to Springfield’s claim. United Counties contends the defense is barred by the lease’s waiver of defense clause.

Both parties argue that section 9-206 of the Uniform Commercial Code is controlling, although they disagree on which state’s version is applicable. The version of this section adopted by Kentucky and New Jersey differs from that enacted in Georgia. Section 9-206, as enacted in both Kentucky and New Jersey, provides:

(1) Subject to any statute or decision which establishes a different rule for buyers or lessees of consumer goods, an agreement by a buyer or lessee that he will not assert against an assignee any claim or defense which he may have against the seller or lessor is enforceable by an assignee who takes his assignment for value, in good faith and without notice of a claim or defense, except as to defenses of a type which may be asserted against a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument under the Article on Commercial Paper (Article 3). A buyer who as part of one transaction signs both a negotiable instrument and a security agreement makes such an agreement. (Emphasis added.)

If this version of section 9-206 is applicable here, the waiver of defense clause in the lease would not bar Ollie’s claim of failure of consideration, because Springfield had notice of this defense at the time it was assigned the lease by Intercontinental. Of course, Ollie’s may assert against United Counties, as successor in interest, any defense it had against Springfield.

A different result would be reached, however, if Georgia law is applicable. Georgia’s version of section 9-206 does not include the phrases “or lessee(s)” and “or lessor.” Ga. Code Ann. § 109A-9-206. Unlike Kentucky and New Jersey, Georgia did not adopt the 1962 revision of the Uniform Commercial Code which extended section 9-206 to leases. In Georgia, common law rather than section 9-206 governs the effect of waiver of defense clauses in leases. Under this common law, the clause would serve to bar Ollie’s lack of consideration [1143]*1143defense. See, e. g., Dalton American Truck Stop, Inc. v. ADBE Distributing Co., 136 Ga.App. 606, 222 S.E.2d 61 (1975); Grimes v. Community Loan & Investment Corporation of Columbus, 130 Ga.App. 8, 202 S.E.2d 265 (1973).

Whether Ollie’s prevails on its failure of consideration defense therefore depends on which state’s substantive law applies. To make this determination, it is necessary to look to the conflict of laws rule of the forum state, in this case Georgia. See Klaxon v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co., 313 U.S. 487, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477 (1941); Residential Industrial Loan Co. v. Brown, 559 F.2d 438 (5th Cir. 1977). The district court held that under Georgia’s conflict of laws rule for contracts, Kentucky or New Jersey law is applicable.

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643 F.2d 1140, 31 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 401, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 13681, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-counties-trust-co-v-mac-lum-inc-ca5-1981.