FLORIDA STATE CONSTRUCTORS SERVICES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES E. RANDALL AND ANNA RANDALL, HIS WIFE, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1979-03-06
No. 78-720
Before PEARSON, BARKDULL and HUBBART, JJ.
368 So. 2d 421 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1979) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Florida State Constructors Services appealed summary judgment that rescinded a second mortgage based on Truth in Lending Act violations. The court reversed, holding that the original cash-basis home improvement contract was not subject to the Truth in Lending Act, and the subsequent financing of the matured debt did not retroactively subject the transaction to the Act.


Holding

The court held that the original cash-basis transaction was not within the Truth in Lending Act's scope, and the subsequent note and mortgage secured a matured debt, not new credit, so the Act did not apply. The nature and character of the underlying obligation, not the subsequent financing mechanism, determines applicability of the Act.


Headnotes

[1] The Truth in Lending Act applies to the nature and character of the underlying obligation, not subsequent modifications that extend credit for a matured debt.

[2] A transaction initially agreed upon on a cash basis, without interest or finance charges, is not subject to the Truth in Lending Act.

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Key Quotes

“It is the nature and character of the underlying obligation that determines whether the Truth and Lending Act is applicable.”

Establishes the governing standard for determining Truth in Lending Act applicability

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Facts & Procedural History

Constructors performed home improvement work for the Randalls on a cash basis, to be paid within sixty days with no interest or finance charges. When …

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Opinion of the Court
BARKDULL, Judge.

BARKDULL, Judge.

Florida State Constructors Services, Inc., appeals an adverse summary judgment which precluded it from pursuing the foreclosure of a second mortgage.

Constructors did some home improvement work for the Randalls on a cash basis, to be paid for within sixty days after completion. No interest or finance charges were levied against the Randalls under this contract. When the Randalls informed Constructors that they could not pay for the work, Constructors took a note and second mortgage on the house. Constructors filed suit for foreclosure of the mortgage, and James Randall responded and counterclaimed seeking, in part, damages for Truth in Lending violations. Volume 15, United States Code Annotated, Section 1640. James Randall then sent a letter of rescission to Constructors, noting that the Truth in Lending Act, etc., gave him the right to do so for Constructors’ failure to disclose certain things at the time the credit was extended. James Randall moved for and was granted a summary judgment, the trial court finding that Randall had effectively rescinded the transaction which was the subject of the foreclosure action. The trial court then ordered Constructors to terminate the security interest and refund the monies previously paid. This appeal ensued.

We reverse. The original transaction was on a cash basis and not within the terms of the Truth in Lending Act. Young v. Tri-City Remodeling Enterprises, Inc., 71 Misc.2d 108, 335 N.Y.S.2d 308 (1972). As an accommodation to the Randalls (after they had refused to pay in accordance with the terms of the written agreement that they had executed) Constructors, for the first time, extended credit and charged interest for deferred payments of a matured and existing debt. This was without the provisions of the Truth and Lending Act, as the underlying obligation was without the Act. It is the nature and character of the underlying obligation that determines whether the Truth and Lending Act is applicable. Meyers v. Clearview Dodge Sales, Inc., 384 F.Supp. 722 (E.D.La.1974); Gerasta v. Hibernia National Bank, 411 F.Supp. 176 (E.D.La.1975); Claire v. LaLanne-Paris Health Spa, 12 Cal.3d 915, 117 Cal.Rptr. 541, 528 P. 2d 357 (1974); King v. Central Bank National Assoc., 127 Cal.Rptr. 487 (Ct. App. 1st Dist. 1976). The original contract not being within the Act, the subsequent note and mortgage (changing the transaction from a cash to a deferred basis) did not change the character of the original obligation.

Therefore, the final summary judgment here under review be and the same is hereby reversed, and the cause is returned to the trial court with directions to permit the plaintiff therein to proceed with its foreclosure. [The record reveals that the defendants’ pleadings filed herein have, in fact, raised several defenses other than violation of the Truth in Lending Act which would constitute triable issues on remand.] Upon a final determination thereof [if in favor of the plaintiff], the trial court shall include in its final judgment an award of attorney’s fees for the appellant’s counsel’s services in this court upon appropriate evidence of the value of such services.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Huerta v. Fla. Power & Light Co., 410 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Florida State Constructors Services, Inc. v. Randall, 368 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 378 So. 2d 348 (Fla.1979).…

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