Guaranty Financial Corp. v. Harden

George Bose Smith, Justice,

This is a suit by the appellants, Guaranty Financial Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, Joe-Lee Homes, Inc., to foreclose a mortgage securing a promissory note payable in 144 equal monthly installments of $75.01. The note makes no distinction between principal and interest, merely reciting the total obligation of $10,801.44 (144 x $75.01), The single question is whether the inclusion of an acceleration clause in the note made the entire transaction void for usury. The chancellor held the note to be usurious but allowed the plaintiffs a partial recovery…