Till v. SCS Credit Corporation

The Tills (defendants) filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy owing SCS Credit Corporation (plaintiff) $4,894.89 on a used-truck loan carrying a 21% annual finance charge, with the truck itself worth only $4,000; their proposed reorganization plan offered SCS 9.5% annual interest on the secured portion of its claim, calculated from the 8% national prime rate plus a 1.5% risk adjustment, while SCS argued the applicable rate should instead be its uniform 21% subprime contract rate. The bankruptcy court sided with the Tills, the district court reversed in favor of the 21% rate, and the Seventh Circuit endorsed a middle approach presuming the contract rate applied subject to rebuttal; the Tills petitioned for certiorari.