Universal Card Services Corp. v. Akins (In Re Akins)

235 B.R. 866, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 863, 34 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 767, 1999 WL 504832
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMay 17, 1999
Docket19-50433
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 235 B.R. 866 (Universal Card Services Corp. v. Akins (In Re Akins)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Universal Card Services Corp. v. Akins (In Re Akins), 235 B.R. 866, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 863, 34 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 767, 1999 WL 504832 (Tex. 1999).

Opinion

SUPPLEMENTAL AND AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

FRANK R. MONROE, Bankruptcy Judge.

The Court held a trial of this proceeding on April 22, 1999 at 9:30 a.m. At the conclusion of the trial, the Court ruled for the Defendant. A hearing was set on the Defendant’s Request for Attorneys Fees under 11 U.S.C. § 523(d). That matter was taken under advisement. In order that the trial on the merits and the request for attorneys fees by Defendant be fully addressed in writing, these Supplemental and Amended Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law are being issued under B.R. 7052 to amend and supplant those which were recited orally upon the record at the termination of the trial on the merits and to address the request for attorneys fees.

This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I). As this matter both arises under Title 11 and in a case under Title 11, this Court has the jurisdiction to enter a final judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a) and (b), 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) and (b)(1), 28 U.S.C. § 151, and the Standing Order of Reference in the United States *869 District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Findings of Fact

Defendant obtained a credit card from Plaintiff at the invitation of the Plaintiff. Such invitation was issued by the Plaintiff because of information Plaintiff obtained concerning Defendant’s credit rating from the credit bureau it uses. Specifically, Plaintiff relied on Defendant’s FICO score, which is a score that the credit agencies give to individuals which supposedly 1 reflects their creditworthiness. None of the information obtained and relied upon by Plaintiffs in issuing their solicitation to Defendant was either received or requested from the Defendant.

The card member application which Plaintiff sent Defendant was completed by her and returned to Plaintiff. This application stated that Defendant had been PRE-APPROYED for a $4,000.00 unsecured credit line. Although the form had a blank for the Defendant to fill in her annual income (which she did) no other financial information was requested. It is hard to see how Plaintiff relied on that information (even though it was accurate) since the credit line had been PRE-AP-PROVED. Upon receipt of the PRE-AP-PROVED application, Plaintiff then sent Defendant a credit card. The credit account was officially opened on October 18, 1993. No charges were ever made on the card until December 24,1997.

The card member agreement which Plaintiff sent to Defendant with her new credit card contains no express warranties by the Defendant. For example, there is no warranty or representation that when she uses the credit line that she either has the ability or intent to repay the charges. The only statement of responsibility of payment is in paragraph 2 of the card member agreement wherein it states, “You are responsible for all amounts owed on your Account, whether it is used by you or by an Authorized User, and you agree to pay such amounts according to the terms of this agreement.” Further, there is nothing in the card member agreement that would require the Defendant to advise Plaintiff of any change in her financial condition, job status, or gross income.

At the time the credit card was issued, the Debtor lived in Mississippi, was married and had a total gross annual income of approximately $32,000.00. A divorce caused a reduction of income for her because, as a member of the National Guard, upon becoming single, her living allowance was reduced by $800.00 per month. This was an especially large “hit” to Defendant as the living allowance is a non-taxable item.

Then, in February 1997, Defendant moved to Austin, Texas to help her mother with her ailing father. This resulted in a reduction of her rank from E-6 to E-5. The further reduced income and the increased expenses from living in the Austin, Texas area resulted in a hardship for Defendant.

Defendant had routinely used her credit cards with Bank One and First USA over the years. The record does not reflect the exact amount of debt under these two cards at either the time of her divorce or her relocation. But the Court concludes that they were close to being charged up to their limit at the time of Defendant’s relocation to Austin because by the summer of 1997, Defendant had “maxed out” her credit limits with both these card issuers (each being $15,000.00). In fact, she became in payment default on them because she helped her mother pay her father’s burial expenses instead of paying her monthly minimum for 2-3 months in late summer/early fall, 1997. In November, 1997, Defendant negotiated repayment agreements with both Bank One and First USA whereby she was to pay monthly 2% of the outstanding balances for three months to get those accounts re-instated. *870 To pay these First USA and Bank One monthly payments, Defendant began working a second job at night.

In mid-November of 1997, the Defendant received an unsolicited check from Plaintiff with a proposal that she use it. 2 Plaintiffs representative testified that the check was sent to Defendant only after they checked with their credit agency and found Defendant’s FICO score to be high enough to send it out. However, at that time, Defendant owed First USA and Bank One the maximum credit limit on their respective credit cards, or the total of approximately $30,000.00, or 150% of her annual gross income. However, neither of those entities had reported to the credit agency that the Defendant had maxed out her credit with them and was, in fact, in default. Therein lies the problem. The credit agency did not have an accurate picture of the Defendant’s financial situation. And, Plaintiff did not check with Defendant prior to sending her the check to use in November, 1997. It only checked her FICO score with the credit agency. And, since Bank One and First USA had not reported the Debtor’s current status with them, her FICO score looked good.

Upon receipt of the check and the written urging from Plaintiff to use it, Defendant did nothing. Later, on December 20, 1997, Defendant called Plaintiff and asked Plaintiff if it was alright for her to use the check because she had some bills that she was behind on and needed to pay. Instead of inquiring as to the amount of the bills and the total of her financial condition at that time, the representative of Plaintiff again checked only her FICO score with their credit reporting agency, found it sufficient, and told her to use it up to the full amount of her credit limit to pay her bills. And, so she did, writing a check for $4,000.00 and putting it in her bank account.

The $4,000.00 was used to pay Sears the amounts of $799.79 and $86.59, J.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 B.R. 866, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 863, 34 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 767, 1999 WL 504832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/universal-card-services-corp-v-akins-in-re-akins-txwb-1999.