Suit says lawmaker's truck payments late

Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, brings up one of his bills in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, of which he is the chairman, at the state Capitol Wednesday.
Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, brings up one of his bills in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, of which he is the chairman, at the state Capitol Wednesday.

A Delaware-based company has filed suit against state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, who is chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, alleging that he has failed to make installment payments on a 2013 GMC Sierra pickup and owes the company more than $31,000.

Ally Financial Inc. filed the complaint against Hutchinson, a Little Rock Republican who is a nephew of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, late Friday afternoon.

Jeremy Hutchinson said he would pay the two months of installment payments that he owes the firm to hopefully have the lawsuit dismissed.

He said his legal assistant in Benton pays his bills, and he hasn't been to that office since the legislative session started Jan. 12. Hutchinson is an attorney.

Hutchinson said his legal assistant has been calling the company for days to pay two months of installments totaling about $1,100, but she has been told the company's computer system is down and it can't pull up his account to allow him to make his payments.

"It's ultimately my fault," he said. "I dropped the ball."

The lawsuit states that Hutchinson purchased a 2013 GMC Sierra from Everett Buick Pontiac under a retail installment contract on June 14, 2013, and Ally Financial Inc. purchased the contract.

The current retail value of the vehicle is about $29,325, according to the lawsuit.

Hutchinson has defaulted in the performance of his obligations under the contract by failing to make the installment payments due, and the last payment received by Ally was Nov. 7, according to the lawsuit. Hutchinson's account is past due for the Oct. 29 installment and each installment due thereafter, the lawsuit alleges.

Under the terms of the contract, Ally has declared all payment to be due and payable, and $31,070.84 due from Hutchinson as the unpaid balance, according to the lawsuit.

Ally is entitled to the immediate possession of the vehicle, to dispose of it after notice to Hutchinson, and to collect the unpaid balance due under the contract after applying any proceeds of the sale, minus allowed expenses, to the amount that Hutchinson owes under the contract, the suit states.

Attorney Joseph Kolb of Little Rock, an attorney for Ally Financial Inc., could not be reached for comment by telephone Friday night.

Metro on 02/28/2015

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