§3319. Accelerated rental payments

A. If the lessor under either a true or financed lease elects to recover accelerated future rental payments and additional amounts that are then due and owing under the lease following the lessee's default, as provided under R.S. 9:3318(A)(1), the lessor shall commence an ordinary collection proceeding against the lessee as provided under the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. Any refundable security deposit held by the lessor may be retained and shall be credited against lessee's liability for accelerated rental payments. The lessor under a consumer lease shall not seek to recover full accelerated rental payments from the lessee, but shall grant the lessee an appropriate rebate of unearned interest rate charges capitalized into the lease as required under R.S. 9:3319(B).

B. If the lessor under a consumer lease elects to accelerate future rental payments following the lessee's default, the lessor shall grant the lessee an appropriate rebate of unearned interest rate charges originally capitalized into the lease. This rebate shall represent at least as great a proportion of interest rate charges, after first deducting from those charges a prepayment charge of not more than twenty-five dollars, as the sum of the monthly time balances beginning one month after the month in which payment is accelerated, bears to the sum of all monthly time balances under the schedule of payments under the lease, which method of rebate, upon acceleration, is commonly referred to as the "Rule of 78's" or the "sum of digits" rebate method. If more than one-half of the term of the lease has elapsed, the rebate shall be computed without deducting a prepayment charge. For the purposes of rebate upon acceleration, unearned deferral charges shall be rebated on the same basis as interest rate charges. Following acceleration of rental payments and the filing of suit against the lessee, any unpaid amounts due and owing by the lessee to the lessor shall bear interest at the rate of twenty-five percent per annum until paid in full.

C. If the lessee pays accelerated future rental payments to the lessor, the lessor must permit the lessee to remain in peaceable possession of the leased equipment over the remaining lease term subject to the lessor's rights under R.S. 9:3319(D).

D. If the lessee fails to satisfy a final judgment for accelerated rental payments, the lessor may at any time thereafter judicially seize and sell the lessee's possessory rights to the leased property, as provided under the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, in order to satisfy such a final judgment.

E. Prior to obtaining a judgment against the lessee for accelerated future rental payments, the lessor may elect to convert his claim into an action seeking to cancel the lease and to recover possession of the leased property as provided in R.S. 9:3320 through 3324.

Acts 1985, No. 592, §1, eff. July 13, 1985.