Court Opinion

ID: 9461013
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:04:01.923966+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:51.365935
License: Public Domain

BRUCE R. THOMPSON, District Judge
(concurring):
I concur with Judge Hufstedler but go farther. I believe that a court fashioning a decree in this type of case under the Truth in Lending Act must do equity and cannot ignore the plaintiffs’ unpaid obligation for the principal sum of $9,300. Section 1635(b), Title 15, United States Code. If a rescission is demanded and effectuated without litigation, this Section requires the obligor to return the property or its reasonable value to the creditor. This, together with the Act’s failure to void the principal obligation along with the security, is, for me, clear indication of Congressional intent that a complete windfall to the victim was not intended.
In the present case, defendants did not counterclaim for $9,300. Under Rule 13(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this is a compulsory counterclaim and the cause of action is lost if not asserted. Whatever tactical considerations may have influenced defendants’ pleading, the net result of the judgment appealed from would be that plaintiffs have received $9,300 plus a judgment for $5,400 and are free from any obligation. This is so obviously inequitable and not in conformity with the intent of the legislation that it cannot be countenanced.