Opinion ID: 1210758
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Gonzales' Origination Fee Contentions

Text: Gonzales argues that the K.S.A. 16a-2-401(9)(b) term origination means the fee can only be charged for the expenses in setting up the original file and making the original loan. According to Gonzales, the fee should not apply at all to refinancing. Any other interpretation, he contends, allows for outrageously high incremental charges for the additional money borrowed, is inconsistent with the plain meaning of the language, works an absurd result, and is contrary to the purpose of the UCCC. According to Gonzales, deception is present because no one ever told him that origination fees were charged every time a loan was refinanced. Similarly, he reasons deception and unconscionability are present because of Associates' (1) failure to disclose that the fee is added to loan principal and (2) continuous solicitations to refinance. Gonzales asserts fraud because the loan documents refer to a prepaid finance charge without disclosing that the only such charge was the origination fee.