Assignment Requirements
1. Edie needs $1,500 to buy textbooks and other school supplies. Frank agrees to loan Edie $1,500, accepting as collateral Edie’s car. They put their agreement in writing and sign it. Edie keeps possession of the car. Does Frank have an enforceable security interest? How can Frank let other creditors know of his interest in the car?
2. Consumer Credit Corporation loans $15,000 to Dave to buy a car, which is used as collateral to secure the loan. Dave pays less than half of the loan, before he defaults. What are the lender’s alternatives?
3. Smartt Software Company borrows $10,000 from Term ‘N All Loans, Inc., but cannot repay the loan when it comes due. Term ‘N All refuses to extend the time for repayment unless Smartt can provide an acceptable surety. Uno Venture Corporation agrees to act as a surety for the loan after Smartt offers the firm a discount on software and shows Uno financial statements, compiled with Term ‘N All’s assistance, that misrepresent Smartt’s financial situation. Later, after Uno uses the discount to buy software, Smartt again defaults on repayment of the loan, and Term ‘N All files a suit against Uno to collect the amount of the debt. Is Uno liable? Why or why not?
4. First State Bank is a secured party on a $5,000 loan to Geoff, who owns Happy Hours, a nightclub. When Geoff experiences financial difficulty, creditors other than First State Bank petition him into involuntary bankruptcy. The value of the secured collateral has substantially decreased in value. On its sale, the debt to First State Bank is reduced to $2,500. Geoff’s estate consists of $100,000 in exempt assets and $2,000 in nonexempt assets. After the bankruptcy costs and back wages to Geoff’s employees are paid, nothing is left for unsecured creditors. Geoff receives a discharge in bankruptcy. Later he decides to go back into business. By selling a few exempt assets and getting a small loan, he is able to buy the Idle Inn, a small, but profitable, restaurant. Geoff goes to First State Bank for the loan. The bank claims that the balance of its secured debt was not discharged in Geoff’s bankruptcy. He signs an agreement to pay First State Bank the $2,500, and the bank makes a new unsecured loan to him. Is First State Bank correct that the balance of its secured debt was not discharged in bankruptcy? What is the legal effect of Geoff’s agreement to pay the bank $2,500 after the discharge in bankruptcy?