No. 4-421 / 03-1876.Court of Appeals of Iowa.
July 14, 2004.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Kossuth County, Donald J. Borman, District Associate Judge.
Defendants appeal the district court’s judgment against them. AFFIRMED.
Dwayne and Alice Elsberry, Algona, appellants pro se.
Christopher Low of Abendroth Russell, P.C., Urbandale, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Hecht and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Dwayne and Alice Elsberry appeal the district court’s order to pay Discover Bank (Discover) the amount due, plus interest, on a credit card account. The Elsberrys contend that there was insufficient evidence on the record for the district court to find that they were in fact debtors of Discover when there was no signed contract or agreement or an original credit card application.
On our review, we determine the sufficiency of the evidence in the light most favorable to the district court’s findings. Grinnell Mut. Reins. Co. v. Jungling, 654 N.W.2d 530, 534 (Iowa 2002) (citations omitted). The court’s findings are binding on us if substantial evidence supports those findings. Id. (citation omitted). Substantial evidence supports a finding of fact if one may reasonably infer the finding from the evidence. Id.
The record indicates the following facts. On November 8, 1995, at approximately 6:12 p.m., a Discover telemarketer placed a telephone call to the residence of Dwayne Elsberry. The Elsberrys testified that they did not recall how or when they initially received the Discover credit card but admitted to using the card over a seven-year period between November 1995 and May 2002. They further admitted to making payments on the balance due during those years. Alice testified that they stopped making payments on the credit card in May 2002 because they believed Discover was not properly doing business in the State of Iowa. During trial, the Elsberrys argued that Discover had not obtained a permit from the Secretary of State to conduct business in the State of Iowa pursuant to Iowa Code section 490.1502 (2003) and therefore was improperly conducting business within the state. However the district court found, and it is not at issue on appeal, that Discover is exempt from this statute because it is conducting business through interstate commerce.
Despite there being no evidence of a written contract or agreement or an original credit card application, the foregoing facts are substantial evidence from which to conclude that the Elsberrys are debtors of Discover. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.
AFFIRMED.