Patton v. Wells Fargo Financial Maryland, Inc., 85 A.3d 167

Patton financed a new car; contract elected CLEC governing the loan.
Fox Chevrolet assigned the contract to Wells Fargo Financial Maryland, Inc.
Patton defaulted; Wells Fargo repossessed and sold the car; a deficiency arose.
Patton sued Wells Fargo for CLEC violations in repossession/sale and asserted related contract, unjust enrichment, declaratory judgment, and abuse of the Consumer Protection Act.
Circuit Court dismissed CLEC claims as untimely; contract claim dismissed; Patton appealed; Maryland Court of Appeals granted certiorari.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Proper statute of limitations for CLEC claims	Patton—CLEC six months after satisfaction.	Wells Fargo—CL §12-707(g) one-year period applies.	CLEC six-month limit (CL §12-1019) applies; §12-707(g) does not.
Whether CLEC requirements are incorporated into the contract and binding on an assignee	CLEC terms are incorporated; assignee bound.	Involuntary incorporation; assignee not bound by CLEC terms.	CLEC provisions incorporated; assignee bound; breach of contract against assignee.

Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Roberson, 420 Md. 649 (Md. 2011) (discusses CLEC framework and related limitations context)
Green v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 152 Md. App. 32 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2003) (illustrates CLEC limitations discussion)
Master Financial, Inc. v. Crowder, 409 Md. 51 (Md. 2009) (identifies CLEC limitations as six months post-satisfaction)
Neal v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 398 Md. 705 (Md. 2007) ( addresses voluntary vs. involuntary incorporation under federal HUD/Regulations context)
Epps v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, 675 F.3d 315 (4th Cir. 2012) (holds CLEC incorporated where lender chose CLEC via contract terms)
Decohen v. Capital One, N.A., 703 F.3d 216 (4th Cir. 2012) (same theme on voluntary incorporation of CLEC terms)
Bediako v. American Honda Finance Corp., 850 F. Supp. 2d 574 (D. Md. 2012) (discusses CLEC limitations analysis in federal district court)