Jones v. Morris Plan Bank of Portsmouth

William Jones (plaintiff) bought a car under an installment note providing that missing any payment made the entire remaining balance immediately due; the note was assigned to the Bank (defendant), which held title to the car until full payment. When Jones missed his May and June payments, the Bank sued only for those two months, and Jones paid; when Jones later missed the July payment, the Bank sued again for that month, and Jones successfully pleaded res judicata, resulting in a nonsuit of that second action. The Bank then repossessed and sold the car without Jones's consent, and Jones sued for conversion, arguing that by choosing to sue only for the May and June payments rather than accelerating the whole balance under the note's terms, the Bank had waived its right to collect the remaining installments — meaning title should have already passed to him. The trial court struck Jones's evidence and entered judgment for the Bank; Jones appealed.