Robinson v. Rebsamen Ford, Inc.
| Decision Date | 08 December 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--162,75--162 |
| Citation | 530 S.W.2d 660,258 Ark. 935 |
| Parties | Willie ROBINSON, Appellant, v. REBSAMEN FORD, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Griffin J. Stockley, Little Rock, for appellant.
William L. Owen, Moses, McClellan, Arnold, Owen & McDermott, Little Rock, for appellee.
After having repossessed and sold an automobile Robinson had purchased from it on an installment sales contract, Rebsamen Ford, Inc., sued Willie Robinson to recover a deficiency judgment of $901.18. Robinson pleaded usury as an affirmative defense. He alleged that Rebsamen Ford had procured credit life insurance for him for a premium of $36.76, without disclosing to him that comparable insurance could have been purchased at a much cheaper price under Ford Life Insurance Group Policy No. 2200 and that he would have selected this policy if given an opportunity to do so. He also alleged that Rebsamen Ford was paid 35% of the premium charged to him on the insurance procured but no commission would have been paid to it on the Ford Life Insurance group policy. He alleged that the compensation derived by Rebsamen Ford, when added to the interest otherwise charged, produced a rate of return to Rebsamen Ford of more than 10% per annum and made the contract void for usury. This appeal comes from a summary judgment granted on the motion of Rebsamen Ford. Since we agree with Robinson that there was a material fact issue, we reverse.
Most of the critical facts were admitted. Rebsamen Ford could have procured coverage for Robinson under Ford Life Insurance Group Policy No. 2200 at a cost of 44 cents per $100 of credit per annum, while the insurance obtained came at a premium of 75 cents per $100 of credit per annum, or $36.76, from which Rebsamen Ford was paid a commission of $12.87. Of this commission, $6.56 was refunded by Rebsamen Ford when Robinson defaulted on the installment sales contract.
Appellee's motion for summary judgment relied upon admissions as to the debt, default, repossession, sale of the automobile after repossession and failure to pay the deficiency. The only effort to negate the allegations and admissions upon which Robinson relied for his affirmative defense was the citation of Poole v. Bates-Pearson Auto Sales, 257 Ark. 764, 520 S.W.2d 273, as controlling authority. Rebsamen Ford did, however, as a means of invoking stare decisis, attach to its motion the pleadings and judgment in three other cases in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County in which that court had held adversely to other debtor-purchasers raising the same factual issue. We do not further consider this phase of the motion since it is not applicable in this court, even though it may have been insofar as the trial court was concerned.
In his response to the motion for summary judgment, Robinson incorporated the affidavit of Keith Sloan, the life and health actuary of the Arkansas Insurance Department, who stated that his duties included approval of forms and rates and processing of statistics relating to credit life insurance. He deposed that benefits identical to those obtained by Robinson in the policy issued were offered at a cheaper price by eight insurance companies. He also stated that the principal difference in the cost of the policy Robinson was issued and Ford Life Group Policy No. 2200 was attributable to the compensation allowed to the agent and that the differences in eligibility for coverage and risks covered by the two policies were considered minor by the industry and the Insurance Department.
Robinson's own affidavit was to the effect that he was not informed by Rebsamen Ford that he could have obtained a less expensive policy which provided the same benefits as the one by which he was covered. Otherwise, Robinson voluntarily elected to take the insurance issued. It was admitted that several of appellee's employees, including members of its sales and clerical staffs possessed some information concerning costs and benefits of credit life insurance. The installment sales contract recites that the finance...
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