Varner v. Century Finance Co., Inc., s. 82-8277
| Citation | 720 F.2d 1228 |
| Decision Date | 02 December 1983 |
| Docket Number | 82-8393 and 82-8425,Nos. 82-8277,s. 82-8277 |
| Parties | Garrett VARNER, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. CENTURY FINANCE COMPANY, INC., Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee. Pearl M. BRADLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TERMPLAN, INC., Defendant-Appellee. Josephine SIMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. TERMPLAN, INC. OF GEORGIA, Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) |
Lewis N. Jones, Atlanta, Ga., for Century Finance Co., Inc.
W. Rhett Tanner, Donald Loft, Atlanta, Ga., for amicus curiae Georgia Consumer Finance Co.
Charles M. Baird, Atlanta, Ga., for amicus curiae Georgia Legal Services.
Ralph Goldberg, Atlanta, Ga., for Varner and Simpson.
Joseph H. King, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., for Bradley.
Richard V. Karlberg, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., for Termplan, Inc.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Before TJOFLAT and VANCE, Circuit Judges, and TUTTLE, Senior Circuit Judge.
In this appeal, we are asked to review three counterclaims which are controlled by a common question involving interpretation of the Georgia Industrial Loan Act, Ga.Code Ann. Secs. 7-3-1 et seq. (1983) (the Act). The lenders, who have counterclaimed to collect household loans in default, argue that the Act permits rebates of prepaid interest according to the Rule of 78s upon refinancing. The consumers would require a pro rata method.
We believe this question is appropriate for resolution by the Supreme Court of Georgia. The record establishes and the parties agree that this issue is one which arises with frequency. The federal district courts that have considered the question have not concurred in the result. We therefore defer our decision in the above three matters pending certification of the question to the Supreme Court. See Ferry-Morse Seed Co. v. Hitchcock, 644 F.2d 515 (5th Cir.1981).
Customarily, we request the parties to submit a proposed statement of facts and a proposed certificate of issues for decision when we certify a case to state court. In view of the stipulated facts in these matters, however, we need not follow that practice here. Id. We therefore submit the following for consideration by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
It appears to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that the above matters involve a question or proposition of the law of the State of Georgia which may be determinative of the causes, and there appear to be no clear, controlling precedents in the decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit therefore certifies the following question of law of the State of Georgia to the Supreme Court of Georgia for instructions concerning such question of law, based on the facts recited herein.
I. Style of the cases. The style of the cases in which this certificate is made is as follows: Garrett Varner, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, versus Century Finance Company, Inc., Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, Case No. 82-8277; Pearl M. Bradley, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus Termplan, Inc., Defendant-Appellee, Case No. 82-8393; and Josephine Simpson, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, versus Termplan, Inc. of Georgia, Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, Case No. 82-8425, respectively filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, on appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
II. Statement of the facts. Plaintiffs Bradley and Simpson individually filed suit against defendant Termplan in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. They alleged that their household finance loan agreements with Termplan contained violations of the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 1601 et seq. Plaintiff Varner filed a similar action against Century Finance in the same district. In each case, the defendant denied the allegations and interposed a counterclaim to collect the underlying and...
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