Spearman v. Tom Wood Pontiac-GMC, Inc.

Mary Spearman (plaintiff) purchased and financed a car through Tom Wood Pontiac-GMC, Inc. (Tom Wood) (defendant), a car dealership. A salesman handed Spearman a contract to purchase the car, which contained disclosures required by the Truth in Lending Act. The contract was in quadruplicate form, with a seal across the top joining together all four copies of the contract. Spearman signed the contract, and the salesman then removed a copy of the contract and gave it to Spearman to keep. Spearman filed a lawsuit against Tom Wood in federal court, alleging that Tom Wood violated the Truth in Lending Act by failing to give her a copy of the disclosures required by the act prior to executing the contract. The Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, which contained the requirements imposed by the act, required certain loan disclosures to be made in writing in a form that a customer could keep prior to the completion of a transaction. Spearman argued that Tom Wood failed to satisfy that disclosure requirement because the salesman did not give her a copy of the disclosures to keep until after she signed the contract. The district court found in favor of Spearman. Tom Wood moved for reconsideration, arguing that Spearman could have removed a copy of the disclosures from the contract before she signed the contract. Spearman explained that the salesman did not tell her that she could have removed the disclosures herself. The district court reversed its initial finding, holding that Tom Wood satisfied the requirements because the salesman gave Spearman a copy of the disclosure moments before the transaction was completed. Spearman appealed.