Allen Sales and Servicenter, Inc., Petitioners v. Shelton Ryan, Respondents

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that a holder of an installment note must make presentment (demand) for an overdue installment before exercising an optional acceleration clause. The Court reversed the trial court and Court of Appeals, which had granted summary judgment for the holders, and remanded with instructions that acceleration without prior demand is improper. The decision rests on a longstanding common‑law rule not displaced by the Business & Commerce Code.