Case Information
*1 Before BOWMAN, RICHARD S. ARNOLD, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.
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HANSEN, Circuit Judge.
Daina and Dean DuBois appeal from the district court's dismissal of their complaint against Ford Motor Credit Company (Ford Credit), wherein they asserted *2 that Ford Credit violated various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) following their Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge. We affirm the district court's dismissal.
I.
Because this appeal is from a dismissal for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), we take the facts as stated in the complaint, as well as any reasonable inferences that flow from them, as true. Abels v. Farmers Commodities Corp., 259 F.3d 910, 914 (8th Cir. 2001). The DuBoises filed for protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in March 1996, at which time they were current on a vehicle lease that they had previously entered with Ford Credit. They listed the Ford vehicle as an asset on Schedule G of their bankruptcy petition and indicated that they intended to keep the vehicle and continue making payments. They made one payment after filing and before discharge. During the pendency of the bankruptcy proceedings and after receiving the post filing payment, Ford Credit sent a letter and preprinted form to the DuBoises' attorney, who returned the form, indicating their intent to keep the vehicle pursuant to the lease terms. Following their discharge on June 25, 1996, the DuBoises continued to make lease payments until July 1997, at which time they approached a Ford dealership to lease a new vehicle. (Appellants' App. at 46.) During the negotiations for the second lease, Ford Credit informed the DuBoises that they owed approximately $2800 for excess mileage and wear and tear fees under the first lease, and that Ford Credit would enter the second lease with them only if they agreed to either pay those fees or roll them into the second lease. The DuBoises agreed to roll the fees into the second lease. *3 After making payments on the second lease for approximately two-and-a-half years, the DuBoises brought this action against Ford Credit, alleging that Ford Credit violated § 524 of the Bankruptcy Code by accepting payments under the first lease following the discharge, by sending them payment reminders for payments following the discharge, and by requiring them to roll the excess usage charges into the second lease; alleging that the form letter that Ford Credit sent to their attorney was an invalid reaffirmation agreement under § 524(c) and a violation of the automatic stay provisions of § 362; and alleging that Ford Credit violated the FDCPA. The district court granted Ford Credit's motion to dismiss, finding that none of the payments violated the discharge injunction because they were all voluntary. See 11 U.S.C. § 524(f) (1994). The district court also dismissed the DuBoises' claim for damages based on allegations that the payment reminders and the form letter sent by Ford Credit violated § 524(a) and (c) of the Bankruptcy Code because nothing in the Bankruptcy Code provides a debtor a private cause of action for a creditor's violation of § 524. Additionally, the district court found that the form letter did not violate § 362's automatic stay because the letter was merely an attempt to allow the DuBoises to reaffirm the debt. Finally, the district court dismissed the FDCPA claim as barred by the statute of limitations.
II.
During oral argument, the DuBoises clarified that their appeal was limited to
the issue of whether Ford Credit's requirement that they roll the excess usage charges
from the first lease into the second lease violated § 524(a) and (c) of the Bankruptcy
Act or the FDCPA. The DuBoises' claims may be dismissed pursuant to a Rule
12(b)(6) motion "only if it is clear that no relief can be granted under any set of facts
that could be proven consistent with the allegations." Abels,
The DuBoises argue that Ford Credit violated the discharge injunction and reaffirmation requirements when it required them to roll the excess usage charges from the first lease into the second lease. The district court found from the facts alleged in the complaint that the DuBoises voluntarily made the payments under the first lease after they received their discharge, up until the time they entered the second lease. The DuBoises do not appeal that finding. They also do not dispute that they retained possession of the first leased vehicle throughout that time. The issue in this appeal is whether the agreement to roll the excess usage fees incurred during their use of the first leased vehicle into the second lease was also voluntary, as the district court found.
Section 524(f) was added to the Bankruptcy Code in 1984 with little or no
discussion in the legislative history. In his treatise on bankruptcy, the only thing that
Collier had to say about the addition of § 524(f) was that § 524(f) "'states the obvious'
but [he] d[id] not go on to explain what the obvious [wa]s." Van Meter v. Am. State
Bank,
Ford Credit undisputably could have repossessed the first vehicle if the
DuBoises ceased making voluntary payments. The DuBoises continued making
payments to keep the first vehicle. In fact, it was the DuBoises who first indicated
on their Schedule G that they intended to keep the vehicle and continue making the
lease payments. In the same vein, they voluntarily agreed to pay the excess charges
from use of the first vehicle as a condition of obtaining the second lease. We see no
factual distinction between the voluntariness of the postdischarge monthly payments
the DuBoises made to keep the first vehicle and the voluntariness of their agreement
to pay the excess usage fees they incurred related to the first lease as a condition of
receiving a new lease on a second vehicle. Both are payments for the use of the first
vehicle. The DuBoises do not allege that they had no other choice but to enter the
new lease or that they could not receive financing elsewhere for another vehicle. Cf.
In re Arnold,
Finally, because the DuBoises voluntarily entered the second lease and voluntarily agreed to pay the excess fees associated with the first vehicle, Ford Credit did not violate the FDCPA. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1) (1994). Thus, the district court correctly dismissed the FDCPA claim.
III.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court's dismissal of the DuBoises' claims. A true copy.
Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
Notes
[1] The Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota.
[2] The complaint alleges two different dates for commencement of the second lease: July 11, 1997, and November 11, 1997. (Appellants' App. at 5, ¶ 11; Appellants' App. at 6, ¶ 16.) It does not appear from the record that the DuBoises were ever delinquent on the first lease. The correct date that the second lease was commenced is immaterial to this appeal.
[3] The action was brought as a class action, but the DuBoises never sought class certification.
[4] On appeal, the DuBoises allege that Ford Credit refused to accept return of the first vehicle unless the DuBoises agreed to pay the charges or lease a second vehicle and roll the charges into the second lease. We reject these factual allegations as inconsistent with the DuBoises' complaint and filings with the district court. There is no allegation that the DuBoises were prevented from leaving the first vehicle with the Ford dealer, walking away, and doing business elsewhere.
[5] Because we hold that there was no § 524 violation, since the DuBoises
voluntarily agreed to pay the excess mileage and wear and tear charges, we decline
to enter the current debate about whether § 524 affords a debtor a private cause of
action. Compare Pertuso v. Ford Motor Credit Co.,