Court Opinion

ID: 9676697
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:30:39.42918+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:50.370589
License: Public Domain

FLANIGAN, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur with most of the principal opinion. I dissent only with respect to that *245portion of it which states, “the contents of the properly sent notice were irrelevant since Ted did not receive it.” It is my view that the nonreceipt of the notice by Ted does not eliminate the need to examine the sufficiency of the notice.
Section 400.9-504(3) reads, in pertinent part:
Unless collateral is perishable or threatens to decline speedily in value or is of a type customarily sold on a recognized market, reasonable notification of the time and place of any public sale or reasonable notification of the time after which any private sale or other intended disposition is to be made shall be sent by the secured party to the debtor.
The party seeking the deficiency judgment has the burden of proving the sufficiency of the notice. Cherry Manor v. American Health Care, 797 S.W.2d 817, 821 (Mo.App.1990). That burden is not satisfied by the mere showing that Ted did not receive the notice. Even if Ted had refused to receive the notice, it would still be necessary for plaintiff to prove its sufficiency.
“A person who refuses a notice is simply deemed to have knowledge of its contents. The legal sufficiency of the contents still must be determined.” 58 Am.Jur.2d Notice § 33. Authorities consistent with the foregoing principle include: Rodell v. Nelson, 113 Idaho 945, 750 P.2d 966 (App.1988); Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wolfe, 7 Mass.App. 263, 386 N.E.2d 1303 (1979).
In Rodell, the defendant refused to accept service of an order. The trial court did not address the issue of the sufficiency of the order and reasoned that any defect in it was immaterial. On appeal, the court said, 750 P.2d at 968:
This reasoning may have some intuitive appeal, but it contains a non sequi-tur. Although a written notice can not be evaded, it does not follow that such evasion cures or renders immaterial any defect in the document itself. A person who refuses a notice is simply deemed to have knowledge of its contents. The legal sufficiency of those contents still must be determined.
In Wolfe, the court said, 386 N.E.2d at 1304:
[Wjhile it is established that one who wilfully avoids notice is charged with the knowledge ... which would flow from the notice had it been actually received, we have found no authority for holding that such avoidance carries the further consequence of curing defects which would otherwise render the notice invalid. (Authorities omitted.)
Closer in point is Tauber v. Johnson, 8 Ill.App.3d 789, 291 N.E.2d 180 (1972), because it is based on § 9-504 of the Uniform Commercial Code which is also the source of § 400.9-504. In Tauber, the court pointed out that notification under the statute has been found to be reasonable when merely sent by certified letter to the debt- or’s last known place of business and that there is no requirement that plaintiff prove actual receipt of the letter by defendant.
In Tauber, the court said, 291 N.E.2d at 183:
[P]laintiff proved only that an envelope had been sent, by introducing into evidence the certified mail return receipt. He utterly failed to present any evidence as to the contents of the envelope, and there was nothing to show that it contained the proper statutory notice of intent to resell the car. No copy of the notice allegedly sent to defendant was sought to be introduced, and plaintiff testified that he could not recall the contents of the letter. In the absence of any showing of the contents and substance of the letter, we must conclude that plaintiff has failed to sustain his burden of proving compliance with the requirements for notice of disposition.
The principal opinion sets forth the contents of the letter of February 5, 1991. That notice would not satisfy the requirement under § 400.9-504 with respect to a public sale because it does not state “the time and place of any public sale.”
In the case of a private sale or other disposition, the creditor must give the debtor reasonable advance notice of a specified time after which such private *246sale or other disposition is to be made. The notice of a private sale need only-state that after a certain date the property will be sold and is not required to give a date on which the sale will be made, and there is no requirement of notice of the time and place of the sale.
9 Anderson, Uniform Commercial Code, § 9-504:49 (3d ed. 1985).
The Code does not state whether the notice must specify whether the sale is a private or a public sale. The majority of courts hold that the notice must state the kind of sale that is to be held. A minority follow the Code as written and only require that the notice set forth the information specifically required by the Code for the particular kind of sale that is involved, and hold that it is not required to specify what kind of sale it is. From the standpoint of administration, the majority view that amends the Code by finding a requirement of specifying the kind of sale appears the preferable view. As the sufficiency of a notice depends upon the nature of the sale, it is preferable to have the nature of the sale specified first so that the sufficiency of the notice can then be determined on that basis, rather than work backwards and deduce the nature of the sale from the kind of notice given. In addition, the recipient of the notice will often be a person not trained in the law of the Uniform Commercial Code and it appears desirable to inform him of the nature of the sale, since no great burden is placed upon the creditor by requiring him to do so.
Id. at § 9-504:51.
Because the principal opinion does not rule on the sufficiency of the notice, I refrain from expressing a view thereon.