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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)

Citation
Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)
Parent Document
Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
2005-01-14

Other Sections in This Document (57)

Full Text

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¶ 48. Neither the rationale of the trial court nor that of the majority is sustainable. As discussed above, the jury did not find that defendant withheld the $15,067 installment payment in good faith, and its finding that plaintiff substantially complied with its contractual obligations enables plaintiff to enforce the contract. The prompt payment act provision, 9 V.S.A. § 4002(d), does not help defendant because it explicitly applies only if the parties have not “otherwise agreed,” and *95they otherwise agreed in the contract before us. Furthermore, the interest on default provision does not violate the usury statute. The usury statute sets “the rate of interest or the sum allowed for forbearance or use of money [at] twelve percent per annum.” 9 V.S.A. § 41a(a). Under Lowell & Austin, Inc. v. Truax, 146 Vt. 448, 452-53, 507 A.2d 949, 951 (1985), the default provision does not violate the statute because it does not involve a loan or forbearance. See Southwest Concrete Prods, v. Gosh Constr. Corp., 798 P.2d 1247, 1251-52 (Cal. 1990) (distinguishing late charges from loan or forbearance); R.A. Lord, Williston on Contracts § 20:34 (4th ed. 1999) (explaining that late charges for a loan on default does not make a transaction usurious).