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17 St. Louis U. L.J. 127 (1972-1973)
Prejudgment Replevin and Self-Help Repossession - Creditor Remedies of the Past: A Constitutional Plan of Assault

handle is hein.journals/stlulj17 and id is 145 raw text is: PREJUDGMENT REPLEVIN AND SELF-HELP REPOSSES- SION-CREDITOR REMEDIES OF THE PAST: A CONSTITUTIONAL PLAN OF ASSAULT During the past two decades there has been an unprecedented growth of consumer credit. In 1959 consumer installment credit in this country rose to 39.2 billion dollars.' Ten years later that amount had almost tripled.2 This significant increase in consumer credit has primarily been caused by the decline of restrictions governing the ex- tension of credit and the eagerness of many Americans to explore this new avenue of purchasing power. As greater numbers took ad- vantage of this means of purchase, the number of buyer defaults in- evitably increased as a result of a lack of understanding of the nature of the obligations incurred and employment insecurity.3 The lowest economic classes suffered the greatest number of de- faults and were subjected to an arsenal of creditors' remedies.4 Two of the prime weapons invoked by the creditors were prejudgment replevin or statutory replevin with bond and self-help repossession. This set of remedies provided creditors with a swift and economical means of recovering personal property from consumers who had failed to perform the terms of their installment contracts of purchase. The devastating effects of these remedies brought financial ruin to vast numbers of consumers.5 These procedures were exercised by the creditor whenever he believed that a consumer had defaulted. Often, at the time these summary remedies were utilized, the con- sumer had a meritorious defense or had paid a substantial portion 1. Address by Ralph S. Stone of the Legal Aid Society of St. Louis, NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CONSUMER FINANCE HEARINGS, June 22, 1970. 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Accurate statistics specifying the number of individuals subjected to these remedies are unavailable because the employment of these practices by the creditor is not always made a matter of public record. 5. Numerous cases have been reported which detail the disastrous ef- fects of these creditor practices. One such case involved the purchase of a used automobile by a returned veteran. The veteran made a substantial down payment and signed an installment contract which contained an ac- celeration clause. The veteran made his first monthly payment by mailing a money order to the dealer. The dealer stated that he had not received the payment, declared the account to be delinquent, and demanded the full amount owed on the automobile. The veteran offered to show the dealer the money order stub, but the dealer refused and repossessed the automobile in- stead. The veteran borrowed money to make up for the lost payment and to regain possession of the automobile, but the dealer refused to accept the payment or refund any money that he had received from the veteran. Ad- dress by Ralph S. Stone of the Legal Aid Society of St. Louis, NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CONSUMER FINANCE HEARINGS, June 22, 1970.

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