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Jenkins v. Sallie Mae Inc.

The trial court did not err in allowing the plaintiff's witness to testify about loan records, which were made and kept in the ordinary course of business.

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Sallie Mae, Inc., sued Wadyce Jenkins for breach of contract, contending Jenkins defaulted on a student loan promissory note. After a bench trial, the court found that Jenkins failed to produce sufficient evidence that the debt had been repaid, and entered judgment against him for $20,275.66. Jenkins appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in not permitting the parties to make closing arguments, allowing testimony of a witness who lacked personal knowledge of the transactions, not permitting rescission of the note when he signed it due to a mistake of fact, not finding that the suit was barred by laches and the statute of limitation, and not finding that the note lacked consideration. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. Appeals from bench trials, where the trial judge sits as the trier of fact and has the opportunity to assess the credibility of the witnesses, are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard.1 We will not disturb a trial court’s findings if there is any evidence to support them.2

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, shows that between 1984 and 1987, Jenkins executed six promissory notes in order to finance his law school education. In 1988, after graduating, Jenkins consolidated several of the student loans. Some of the loans were not included in the consolidation, and were to be paid separately, including a loan for $4,500 executed in 1986 and a loan for $5,000 executed in 1987. Jenkins made payments on the loans for years, paying off the consolidated loans in full in 1991. When he defaulted on the remaining loans, Sallie Mae, which had purchased the loans from the original lenders, began collection efforts against Jenkins.

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