Court Opinion

ID: 9541924
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:29:45.609227+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:05:21.968554
License: Public Domain

FRANCHINI, Justice (dissenting). I respectfully dissent. The opinion readily acknowledges that Article 9 applies to the contract because the car is collateral and the contract is a security agreement. In my view, the longer statute of limitations should apply because the transaction between the parties was not just a simple car sale in which the seller was immediately paid all money due. When the Bank agreed to get involved in the financing of the car, the Article that applies to its involvement should be the one that controls its right to maintain an action. The parties entitled the contract a “security agreement,” thus the debtor should not be surprised that the longer statute of limitations applying to secured transactions controls instead of the one pertaining to simple sales. Further, the contract under which the Bank bases its claim is the security transaction, not the bill of sale. Section 55-2-102 states that Article 2 does not apply to contracts (like this one) intended to operate as security agreements. Significantly, the Bank had the right to take possession of the collateral upon default without judicial process under Article 9, see § 55-9-503, and to sell it under Section 55-9-504 — not under Article 2. The deficiency arose out of the default under the security agreement and subsequent sale. For these reasons, the six-year statute of limitations should apply. Finally, we have long held that the law favors the right of action over a limitation. See Slade v. Slade, 81 N.M. 462, 463, 468 P.2d 627, 628 (1970). I believe we should follow the lead of the Montana Supreme Court in holding that when there is a question of which of two statutes of limitation should apply, the question should be resolved in favor of the longer statute. See Thiel v. Taurus Drilling Ltd. 1980-11, 218 Mont. 201, 710 P.2d 33, 40 (1985). As a matter of public policy, it seems wiser to encourage banks and similar institutions to help economically stressed individuals to purchase essential items like automobiles by allowing the institutions to benefit from the longer statute of limitations. Applying the longer statute puts no additional hardship on the debtor who has reneged on his promise to pay.