Harris Trust and Sav. Bank v. McCray

• Decision Date: 24 July 1974
• Docket Number: No. 59855,59855
• Citation: 21 Ill.App.3d 605,316 N.E.2d 209
• Parties: , 2 A.L.R.4th 671, 14 UCC Rep.Serv. 1338 HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Loncie D. McCRAY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 209

316 N.E.2d 209

21 Ill.App.3d 605, 2 A.L.R.4th 671,

14 UCC Rep.Serv. 1338

HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Loncie D. McCRAY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 59855.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

July 24, 1974.

Ron Fritsch, Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

Chapman & Cutler, Chicago (Michael W. Ford, Terry A. McIlroy, Chicago, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

JOHNSON, Justice:

This action was filed in order to recover a judgment for an amount of money allegedly due on a credit card account. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, and the trial court denied the motion. The only question presented in this appeal is whether a credit card issuer may commence an action based upon the holder's failure to pay for the purchase of goods more than four years after the issuer's cause of action accrued.

The facts are undisputed. Defendant made two purchases with a credit card issued to her by the plaintiff. On December 14, 1966 she purchased goods for $400, and on December 19, 1966 she purchased additional goods for $102.27. She made no other purchase and incurred no other debts, except for interest, through the use of the plaintiff's card.

Defendant made three payments on her account with plaintiff: $20 in April 1967; $39.98 in June 1967; and $35 in March of 1968. Finance charges of $58.30 were charged to the account from February to September 1967. The defendant's account was 'charged off' plaintiff's books in September 1967, when the balance due was $500.59. Defendant's final payment of $35 was made after her account was 'charged off.'

On June 13, 1972 plaintiff filed a complaint against the defendant seeking a judgment for the balance of $465.59 plus $77.32 attorney fees, for a total of $542.91. On January 16, 1973 the defendant filed a motion to dismiss which asserted that plaintiff's claim was barred by the four year limitation in Section 2--725 of the Uniform Commercial Code. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1971, ch. 26, § 2--725.) Plaintiff filed a counter petition on March 27, 1973, objecting to defendant's motion to dismiss on the ground that its cause of action was not brought upon a contract for sale but rather a debtor-creditor relationship. On April 24, 1973 the Honorable Joseph A. Solan denied the defendant's motion to dismiss.

On November 8, 1973 the cause was tried without a jury before the Honorable George W. Kasserman, who found for the plaintiff. Judgment was entered against the defendant in the amount of $542.91 and costs. On November 30, 1973 the defendant filed this notice of appeal.

Defendant argues that, when she purchased merchandise with a credit card issued by plaintiff, she entered a 'contract for the sale of goods.' She contends that plaintiff's cause of action is based upon a breach of this contract, which occurred when she failed to pay for the goods, and is thus governed by the four year limitation of Section 2--725 of the Uniform Commercial Code. That section provides:

An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within 4 years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it. Ill.Rev.Stat.1971, ch. 26, § 2--725.

Plaintiff's position is that the credit card transaction involved herein created a debtor-creditor relationship. It argues that the cause of action could not have arisen from the failure to pay for the goods because the goods were paid for by the bank. Instead, plaintiff urges, the cause of action arose when the defendant failed to repay the bank for funds advanced on her behalf to the merchant where the goods were purchased. Therefore, plaintiff argues, the applicable statute of limitations is that dealing with written contracts, including promises to pay money, which provides:

Except as provided in Section 2--725 of the 'Uniform Commercial Code,' enacted by the Seventy-second General Assembly, actions on bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange, written leases, written contracts, or other evidences of indebtedness in writing, shall be commenced within 10 years next after the cause of action accrued; but if any payment or new promise to pay shall have been made, in writing, on any bond, note, bill, lease, contract, or other written evidence of indebtedness, within or after the period of 10 years, then an action may be commenced thereon at any time within 10 years after the time of such payment or promise to pay. Ill.Rev.Stat.1971, ch. 83, § 17.

Before discussing the specific question raised in this appeal, we deem it advisable to consider briefly the nature of the transaction involved herein.

The bank credit card system involves a tripartite relationship between the issuer bank, the cardholder, and merchants participating in the system. The issuer bank establishes an account on behalf of the person to whom the card is issued, and the two parties enter into an agreement which governs their relationship. This agreement provides that the bank will pay for cardholder's account the amount of merchandise or services purchased through the use of the credit card and will also make cash loans available to the cardholder. It also states that the cardholder shall be liable to the bank for advances and payments made by the bank and that the cardholder's obligation to pay the bank shall not be affected or impared by any dispute, claim or demand by the cardholder with respect to any merchandise or service purchased.

The merchants participating in the system agree to honor the bank's credit cards. The bank irrevocably agrees to honor and pay the sales slips presented by the merchant if the merchant performs his undertakings, such as checking the list of revoked cards before accepting the card. The sales slips signed by the...