FAQs ?” you ask ? The answer is that dealers sell their retail installment contracts and leases to national banks and federal savings associations , and the dealers are the sorts of third parties that the OCC is worried about .
Case of the Month
Check Mark in General Vicinity of Vendor ' s Single Interest Insurance Checkbox Not Sufficient to Disclose Premium and Exclude It from Finance Charge : After buying a car from a dealership , the buyer sued the dealership for violating the Truth in Lending Act by failing to accurately disclose the finance charge . The buyer argued that the dealership should have disclosed a premium for vendor ' s single interest insurance as part of the finance charge , instead of as part of the amount financed . The trial court granted summary judgment for the buyer , and the federal appeals court affirmed . The dealership argued that it provided the buyer with sufficient notice under TILA to exclude the premium from the finance charge . The financing agreement contained a VSI provision with a checkbox , and that provision stated that VSI insurance was required , the premium amount , and that the buyer could choose her insurance company . However , the appellate court found that the dealership did not comply with the TILA notice requirement because the VSI provision was not properly checked . While there was an " XX " indicator in the general vicinity of the VSI provision , it was not close enough for a reasonable jury to conclude that the box was checked . Further , even if there was ambiguity about whether the box was checked , it could not constitute a " clear and specific " disclosure , as required by TILA . The court disregarded the dealership ' s argument that the provision provided notice that VSI insurance was required , even if the box was unchecked . See Franco v . A Better Way Wholesale Autos , Inc ., 2017 U . S . App . LEXIS 8689 ( 2d Cir . ( D . Conn .) May 18 , 2017 ).
So there ’ s this month ’ s roundup ! Stay legal , and we ’ ll see you next month .
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Tom ( thudson @ hudco . com ) is Of Counsel and Nikki ( nmunro @ hudco . com ) is a partner in the law firm of Hudson Cook , LLP . Tom has written several books and is the publisher of Spot Delivery ®, a monthly legal newsletter for auto dealers . He is Editor in Chief of CARLAW ®, a monthly report of legal developments for the auto finance and leasing industry . Nikki is a contributing author to the F & I Legal Desk Book and frequently writes for Spot Delivery . For information , visit www . counselorlibrary . com . © CounselorLibrary . com 2017 , all rights reserved . Single publication rights only , to the Association . ( 7 / 17 ). HC # 4827-7675-0667