In re Shirel
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
251 B.R. 157 (2000)
Kevin Shirel (plaintiff) signed a seven-page credit-card application for Sight 'N Sound Appliance Centers (Sight and Sound) (defendant), which stated in the middle of the application that Sight and Sound would retain a security interest in "all merchandise" purchased using the card; Shirel later bought a refrigerator with the card, then filed bankruptcy, listing the credit-card debt as unsecured, and sought to avoid any lien on the refrigerator, claiming it was exempt. Sight and Sound objected, and the bankruptcy court treated the dispute as a request to determine whether Sight and Sound's security interest was valid.
Whether a security agreement's generic reference to "all merchandise" purchased with a credit card sufficiently describes the collateral to create an enforceable security interest under the UCC.