(DOWNLOAD) "Delmar E. Windhorst v. Adcock Pipe and Supply" by The Supreme Court of Texas No. B-6424 # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Delmar E. Windhorst v. Adcock Pipe and Supply
- Author : The Supreme Court of Texas No. B-6424
- Release Date : January 26, 1977
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 70 KB
Description
Per Curiam In this case a retailer unilaterally has charged to its customer's open account a one and one-half percent per month finance charge. The customer, who did not agree to pay and in fact has not paid any such charge, has sued for penalties under the usury laws, claiming that the charging alone of excessive interest constitutes usury. The trial court and the court of civil appeals have held for the retailer. 542 S.W.2d 222. Article 5069-1.06 provides that any person who contracts for, charges or receives interest in excess of the amount authorized by law shall be liable for the penalties set forth in the article.1 The court of civil appeals has held that the 'charging' of interest in excess of the amount authorized is not actionable unless charged pursuant to an agreement of the parties, or actually collected. 542 S.W.2d 222 at 224. Such a holding is contrary to the plain meaning of Article 5069-1.06. By describing the conditions precedent to recovery of penalties in the disjunctive, the Legislature made it clear that only one such condition need to occur to trigger penalties; either a contract for, a charge of or receipt of usurious interest. See Wall v. East Texas Teachers Credit Union, 533 S.W.2d 918 (Tex. 1976). Article 5069-1.02 provides: A greater rate of interest than ten percent per annum unless otherwise authorized by law shall be deemed usurious. The transaction at issue here is not one of those exempted from the ten percent ceiling.2 By unilaterally charging the one and one-half percent per month finance charge, the retailer in this case charged more than ten percent per annum, and is, therefore, liable for penalties.
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