Gulfco of Louisiana v. Brantley
Arkansas Supreme Court
430 S.W.3d 7 (2013)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Pamela and MacArthur Brantley (defendants) obtained a series of four loans from Gulfco of Louisiana (Gulfco) (plaintiff). The loans’ annual interest rates ranged from 24.09 to 40.2 percent. The loans were for approximately a few thousand dollars each, with the exception of the second loan, which was for over $20,000. For this second loan, at the suggestion of Gulfco, the Brantleys mortgaged their home. Gulfco knew that the Brantleys did not have full-time jobs, and that they needed the additional loans in part because they had trouble paying off the earlier loans from Gulfco. Mr. Brantley did not read well, and Mrs. Brantley did not read many of the loans’ terms, because the couple needed the money regardless of the terms. The Brantleys defaulted, and Gulfco filed a notice in the Columbia County Circuit Court that it planned to foreclose on the Brantleys’ home. The Brantleys argued that the loan contracts were unenforceable. The circuit court ruled in favor of the Brantleys, finding that the loan contracts were unconscionable and thus unenforceable. Gulfco appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Goodson, J.)
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