Bland v. Carolina Lease Management Group et al
U.S. District Court Case No. 4:22-CV-33-BO (E.D.N.C.)
Court of Appeals, 4th Cir., Case No. 23-1367
This class action challenges exploitative rent to own contracts. Plaintiffs entered into separate rent to own contracts for storage sheds with Carolina Lease Management Group. The agreements provided that after 4 years of monthly payments, the sheds would be theirs. Under North Carolina law, this agreement is a retail installment sale, but the interest being charged is more than twice what North Carolina law allows. Plaintiffs allege that the defendants engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by willfully violating the statutory interest rate caps, and that the defendants are engaging in unlawful debt collection by attempting to collect amounts that are barred by law.
The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, asserting that all of the claims were barred by the statute of limitations for claims under the Retail Installment Sales Act. Plaintiffs have appealed this decision.
Co-counsel: Lapas Law Office