Vincent v. Bank of America, N.A.

109 S.W.3d 856, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 5836, 2003 WL 21540407
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 9, 2003
Docket05-02-00363-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 109 S.W.3d 856 (Vincent v. Bank of America, N.A.) 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
Vincent v. Bank of America, N.A., 109 S.W.3d 856, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 5836, 2003 WL 21540407 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice LAGARDE (Retired).

James and Patricia Vincent appeal a judgment entered after a bench trial of a dispute involving a home equity loan. In four issues, appellants: (1) contend the trial court erred in refusing to order forfeiture pursuant to the Texas constitution; (2) request this court to order forfeiture as a sanction for appellee Bank of America’s contempt of the trial court’s order to correct its accounting methods; (3) contend the trial court erred in refusing to certify this case for treatment as a class action; and (4) request this court to remand the case for redetermination of attorney’s fees *861 in light of the trial court’s erroneous refusal to certify the class and order forfeiture. Appellee/cross appellant Bank of America asserts by way of cross points that (1) the trial court erred in determining that Bank of America failed to comply with and/or deviated from the loan agreement; (2) the trial court erred in determining that paragraph II, 6 of the loan agreement requires application of the scheduled installment earnings method of accounting; (3) there is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the trial court’s finding that Bank of America, outside of discovery, gave no explanation of its method of accounting; (4) the trial court erred in its construction of the contract and, thus, attorneys’ fees should have been awarded to Bank of America and not to appellants; (5) there is no evidence or insufficient evidence that Bank of America accrued interest for statement periods in excess of the fixed payment amount; and (6) there are no pleadings to support the injunctive and declaratory relief granted. For reasons that follow, we modify the trial court’s judgment by vacating that portion thereof granting injunctive relief, and we affirm the judgment as modified.

Factual Background

In May 1998, James and Patricia Vincent (collectively the “Vincents”) borrowed $130,400 from Bank of America (the “Bank”) and signed a Federal Truth in Lending Disclosure & Loan Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”). This home equity loan was secured by the Vincents’ homestead and is governed by the Texas constitution. Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6). After a dispute arose regarding how payments were being allocated between principal and interest, the Vincents filed suit against the Bank seeking, among other things, certification as a class action and forfeiture of all principal and interest on the loan. After a hearing, the trial court denied class certification and the case proceeded to trial before the court on December 18, 2001. Final judgment was entered in the Vincents’ favor on February 14, 2002, granting them injunctive and declaratory relief, but refusing to grant a requested declaration of forfeiture of all principal and interest due under the loan documents. Requested findings of fact and conclusions of law were filed by the trial court. Both the Vincents and the Bank have appealed the trial court’s judgment.

Constitutional Forfeiture

In their first issue, the Vincents contend the trial court erred in refusing to order forfeiture as required by the Texas constitution. The Vincents argue that once the trial court found the Bank failed to comply with its obligations under the home equity loan, forfeiture should have been automatic. They assert that breach of the following provision of the Loan Agreement triggered forfeiture:

6. Interest Calculation and Application of Payments. For purposes of interest calculation, we will assume that all months have thirty days, that each year has 360 days, that all payments are received on the last day of the billing cycle, and that the daily periodic rate for your account is constant. (The Daily Periodic Rate is calculated by dividing the annual percentage rate by 360.) Payments shall be applied in this order: (1) to any interest accrued to the assumed date of payment; (2) to scheduled principal reduction; (3) to any late charges accrued; and (4) to principal not yet paid.

The Vincents base this claim, in part, on section 50(a)(6)(Q)(x) of the Texas constitution. This section states:

*862 (x) the lender or any holder of the note for the extension of credit shall forfeit all principal and interest of the extension of credit if the lender or holder fails to comply with the lender’s or holder’s obligations under the extension of credit within a reasonable time after the lender or holder is notified by the borrower of the lender’s failure to comply;

See Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6)(Q)(x). This section provides the substantive rights and obligations of lenders and borrowers involved in home equity loan transactions secured by homestead property in Texas. See Stringer v. Cendant Mortgage Corp., 23 S.W.3d 353, 356 (Tex.2000). “Section 50(a)(6), in its totality, establishes the terms and conditions a home-equity lender must satisfy to make a valid loan.” Id. See Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6). This section also “provides that the lender forfeits all principal and interest of the loan if it fails to comply with the obligations set out in section 50(a)(6).” Id. at 356-57. Thus, forfeiture is only available for violations of constitutionally mandated provisions of the loan documents. Violation of any other provision of the loan documents may result in traditional breach of contract causes of action only, with traditional breach of contract remedies. Therefore, the Vincents were only entitled to forfeiture if the Bank breached a provision of the Loan Agreement that was constitutionally mandated. There is nothing in the constitution that requires the language of paragraph II, 6 to be included in home equity loans secured by homestead property. Because paragraph II, 6 of the Loan Agreement is not constitutionally mandated, its breach will not support forfeiture.

The trial court found the Bank failed to comply with its obligations under the Loan Agreement in the manner of the application of the payments made by thé Vin-cents. Paragraph II, 6 of the Loan Agreement, quoted above, provides that “[pjayments shall be applied in this order: (1) to any interest accrued to the assumed date of payment; (2) to scheduled principal reduction; (3) to any late charges accrued; and (4) to principal not yet paid.” The amount of each payment made by the Vincents from month to month that was applied to reduce the outstanding principal varied dramatically. As a result of the manner in which the Bank applied the payments made by the Vincents, found by the trial court to be in breach of paragraph II, 6, interest in excess of the $997.57 monthly payment called for in the loan documents accrued for several months. The Vincents contend this breach entitles them to automatic forfeiture under the Texas constitutional provision requiring that the loan be

scheduled to be repaid in equal successive monthly installments beginning no later than two months from the date the extension of credit is made, each of which equals or exceeds the amount of accrued interest as of the date of the scheduled installment;

Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6)(L). This contention, however, ignores the actual wording of the constitution.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Michael Sloggett v. LaCore Enterprises, LLC
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
East Texas Copy Systems, Inc. v. Jason Player
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
Garofolo v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C.
497 S.W.3d 474 (Texas Supreme Court, 2016)
in Re Estate of Maria L. Raynes
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Teresa Garofolo v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C.
626 F. App'x 59 (Fifth Circuit, 2015)
Droplets, Inc. v. ETrade Financial Corp.
939 F. Supp. 2d 336 (S.D. New York, 2013)
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as Trustee v. Robinson, Ray
391 S.W.3d 590 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)
AKB Hendrick, LP v. Musgrave Enterprises, Inc.
380 S.W.3d 221 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)
Riemer v. State
342 S.W.3d 809 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
109 S.W.3d 856, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 5836, 2003 WL 21540407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vincent-v-bank-of-america-na-texapp-2003.