Weeden v. Auto Workers Credit Union

29 F. App'x 272
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 5, 2002
DocketNo. 01-3383
StatusPublished

This text of 29 F. App'x 272 (Weeden v. Auto Workers Credit Union) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weeden v. Auto Workers Credit Union, 29 F. App'x 272 (6th Cir. 2002).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This case is before us for the second time, following our order of remand to the [273]*273district court with directions to put into effect the agreement of the parties that was reached during oral argument at the time of the initial appeal. See Weeden v. Auto Workers Credit Union, Inc., No. 97-3073, 1999 WL 191430 (6th Cir. Mar.19, 1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1076, 120 S.Ct. 790, 145 L.Ed.2d 667 (2000) (Weeden I). Having received the very remedy to which they agreed at that time, the plaintiffs now appeal a second time seeking to lessen the financial burden resulting from the decision in Weeden I. Specifically, they argue that the district court should not, on remand from this court, have ordered them to repay the entire mortgage amount, plus interest, that was given them for their real estate transaction. Furthermore, the plaintiffs insist that the district judge should have granted their motion for statutory relief under the Truth-In-Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1693, and should have awarded interest to the credit union only from the date of the district court judgment on remand, not from the date of the initial loan. For the reasons stated below, we find no error and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The facts underlying this action were set out in great detail in our prior opinion in this matter. For purposes of this appeal, therefore, we need not recount the entire factual history of the litigation. Instead, it is sufficient to reiterate that the Weedens submitted a loan application to Auto Workers Credit Union in 1993 in contemplation of refinancing the mortgage on their residence, and that in processing that application and dispensing the refinanced mortgage funds, the credit union failed to comply with the strict requirements of the Truth-In-Lending Act. The plaintiffs thus filed suit in federal district court.

Despite a verdict in favor of the credit union, we concluded on appeal that the district judge erroneously instructed the jury. Because that error could not be termed harmless, we vacated the judgment in favor of the defendant. We nevertheless determined that a retrial was not necessary because all parties agreed at oral argument “that rescission of the loan and restoration to their original positions would constitute a fair resolution of their dispute.” Consequently, this court entered judgment in favor of the Weedens and further stated:

[W]e REMAND to the district court with instructions to order rescission of the loan; the defendant’s return to the Weedens of all funds paid in, with interest; and the Weedens’ return to the Credit Union of the original proceeds of the mortgage, with interest. Because rescission is the relief the Weedens have consistently sought — according to them ever since July 1993 — we decline to order the payment of statutory damages in this case. Cf. Stone v. Mehlberg, 728 F.Supp. 1341, 1349-50 (W.D.Mich.1989). However, because the plaintiffs are the prevailing parties in this action, the district court must also assess attorneys’ fees and costs in their favor.

Weeden I at *5.

Subsequently, upon remand, the district court entered the following order:

Pursuant to the order of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, original judgment VACATED. Judgment is entered in favor of the Plaintiffs. The loan is ordered to be rescinded; the Defendants are to return to Plaintiffs all funds paid in with interest; and, Plaintiffs are to return to the Credit Union all the original proceeds of the mortgage, with interest. [274]*274Counsel for the Plaintiffs to timely submit a fee bill to this Court as the Plaintiffs are the prevailing parties.

In response to the district court order, one of the plaintiffs’ two attorneys submitted a fee bill in the amount of $22,485.00, and the other attorney offered a bill for attorneys’ fees in the amount of $18,220.00, and a bill for expenses in the amount of $4,660.70. Additionally, Tina Weeden herself filed an affidavit seeking reimbursement of her expenses in an amount in excess of $24,000.00. The district judge appropriately ruled that Tina Weeden’s personal expenses were not compensable in this action. Furthermore, the district court, rather than “spending] hours combing the fee statements to divine a figure which will adequately address the concerns” the court had with the fee requests, simply reduced the claimed fees by one-third, awarding attorney Drain $15,064.95 and attorney Dilts $12,207.40.

Due to misunderstandings between the parties as to the extent of their respective liabilities, the district court entered a final order explaining, again, that the credit union was responsible for payment of the reduced attorneys’ fee awards, plus the plaintiffs’ original costs request of $4,660.70. Also, the defendant was required to return to the Weedens all monies collected from them in payment on the mortgage — $54,938.23 in principal and interest payments, plus an additional $16,409.03 in interest to compensate the plaintiffs for the loss of use of those monies from the date of closing to March 3, 2001, a total of $71,347.26. Similarly, the Weedens were required to return to the defendants all monies forwarded to them pursuant to the mortgage agreement — the $90,000.00 principal amount, plus $52,169.18 in interest to compensate the lender for its loss of use of its money for almost eight years, a total of $142,169.18. Offsetting the parties’ liabilities against each other, the district court then entered a final judgment in this matter in favor of the defendant, requiring the Weedens to transfer to the credit union $70,821.92 in exchange for the defendant’s cancellation of the mortgage on the plaintiffs’ residence. From that determination, the Weedens now appeal.

DISCUSSION

The plaintiffs first contend that the judgment of the district court effectively violated this court’s mandate by permitting recovery by the credit union when judgment was entered by this court in favor of the plaintiffs. The Weedens’ position on appeal, however, evidences a basic misunderstanding of our original 1999 decision and of the extent of the district court’s power.

In the previous ruling, we explicitly concluded that the Weedens were entitled to rescission of the refinancing agreement, but also directed, in part, that both the Weedens and the credit union return to the opposing party all benefits received from the transaction, plus interest, in order to place the parties in a position as close as possible to that which they enjoyed prior to negotiation of the refinancing agreement. As a result of that directive, the remand to the district court was a limited one, rather than a general remand. See United States v. Moore, 131 F.3d 595, 597-98 (6th Cir.1997) (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 2106 and the appellate court’s authority to remand for “entry of such appropriate judgment, decree, or order, or require such further proceedings to be had as may be just under the circumstances”). The district court was, therefore, required to do exactly what this court commanded, that is, attempt to return the parties to their original positions by ordering each [275]

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Related

United States v. Kenneth R. Moore
131 F.3d 595 (Sixth Circuit, 1997)
Stone v. Mehlberg
728 F. Supp. 1341 (W.D. Michigan, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
29 F. App'x 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weeden-v-auto-workers-credit-union-ca6-2002.