Raymond and Joan Massengill borrowed money from Indiana National Bank (INB) to purchase a van. At the end of the loan with only two payments remaining, the Massengills were notified by mail that they were delinquent on their last two loan payments for the van. Joan called INB on a Saturday and said that she did not agree with the amount that INB said was due insisting that the loan was paid in full. It was arranged with the INB call center that the Massengills would go to the bank the following Monday morning and take care of the matter. In the meantime, INB had made arrangements for the van to be repossessed. At 1:30 a.m. Sunday, two men appeared in the Massengills' driveway and began to hook up the van to a tow truck. Raymond, assuming that the van was being stolen, went outside to intervene and did so by trying to get inside the van. During the course of events, Massengill became entangled in machinery at the rear of the tow truck and was dragged down the street and then run over by his towed van. The "repo men"those hired by INB to repossess the vanknew of Raymond's plight but sped away. The trial court granted summary judgment for the bank, ruling that the bank was not liable for the injuries caused by the repossession company. On appeal, however, the court ruled that the bank could be liable for the acts of the repossession company and remanded the case for the determination of damages.

1. Frequently, courts must decide, as in this case, whether the creditor should be held liable for the wrongful acts of persons hired by the creditor to undertake the actual repossession effort. Is it fair to hold the creditor liable for acts that the creditor did not commit? Why or why not?

2. Given the potential for violence during repossession efforts, why do you think Article 9 permits creditors to resort to "self-help" repossessions?

3. Should repossession companies be prohibited from taking collateral from debtors' property during the middle of the night, when debtors are more likely to conclude that the activity is wrongful?