On May 21, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) released an Assurance of Discontinuance against a lender for allegedly violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) provision on unfair and deceptive acts and...more
On May 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed suit against an online lending platform, alleging, among other things, the use of dark patterns to induce consumers to pay tips and donations,...more
On February 1, 2024, a New York trial court held that the amount of a loan, and not the amount actually advanced to the borrower, is the relevant measurement to determine if New York’s criminal usury statute applies....more
California Corporations Code Section 25118(b) provides an exemption from the state's usury limitations for loans. The exemption is subject to several conditions. One condition is the existence of either a preexisting...more
A bill before the New York State Assembly would, if passed, have major implications for a variety of financing transactions in the Empire State. Titled the End Loan Sharking Act, Assembly Bill 9585 would subject a variety of...more
Late last month, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie introduced B 25-0609, entitled the Protecting Affordable Loans Amendment Act of 2023, that proposes to opt the District of Columbia out of sections 521-523 of the Depository...more
A California state court recently denied a preliminary injunction sought by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (the DFPI) in its long-running litigation against Opportunity Financial (OppFi)...more
On October 30, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office filed a complaint against a Montana tribal economic development entity claiming that the entity’s lending subsidiaries violated state and federal usury laws through...more
On September 6, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s decision rejecting borrower defendants’ usury defense on grounds of waiver and collateral estoppel. The lender,...more
On September 5, 2023, a New York state court invalidated a loan agreement’s choice of law provision, ruling that the loan agreement was void and depriving the lender of both principal and interest payments. The lender, Samson...more
Introduction Most people are relatively familiar with the importance of contracts when doing business or transferring property interests. They often rely on a general understanding of freedom of contract and the...more
Every day, attorneys act as advisors to parties negotiating and drafting contracts. Among those terms often left to the lawyers are choice-of-law provisions. Which state’s law governs a dispute, in theory, should not...more
By: Jeffrey M. Haber In our last article (here), we examined a choice-of-law provision that, if applied, would violate New York public policy concerning usurious loans. In that case, Virginia law, which does not prohibit...more
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a two-to-one split decision, held that an exemption to California’s usury laws for certain “aggregate” loan amounts applies only to indebtedness of a single...more
On June 23, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed a circuit court’s decision on a case involving Michigan’s “longstanding prohibition on excessive interest rates for certain loans.” The case involved a “usury savings clause,”...more
In Soaring Pine Capital Real Estate & Debt Fund II, LLC v. Park Street Group Realty Services, LLC, the Michigan Supreme Court considered whether a court may enforce a usury savings clause in a mortgage agreement. A usury...more
Usury is the unlawful lending of money at unreasonably high rates of interest. So, what is unreasonable? And what happens if your loan goes beyond that amount?...more
In its April 2023 Opposition to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) motion for preliminary injunction, Opportunity Financial, LLC (OppFi) presents a spirited riposte, drilling down into the...more
As discussed here, in April 2023, Colorado introduced HB 1229 that proposed to limit certain charges on consumer loans and simultaneously opt Colorado out of sections 521-523 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and...more
On May 10, SoLo Funds, Inc. (Solo), one of the largest community lending platforms in the United States, entered into a settlement with the District of Columbia attorney general (OAG). The settlement resolves claims that the...more
California limits the amount of interest that may be charged on loans and forbearances. While that is the general rule, there are numerous statutory exemptions. One of those exemptions can be found in California...more
On February 15, 2023, the California Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a case against a lender, in which the trial court held that a forum selection clause required the claim to be brought in Arizona. The appeals...more
Does California's usury limitations constitute a "strong public policy"? Seemingly, that question was decided over a half-century ago by the First District Court of Appeal in Ury v. Jewelers Acceptance Corp., 227 Cal. App....more
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that a district court did not abuse its discretion when certifying a class action. The lawsuit alleges an individual who orchestrated an online payday...more
In December, a Utah-based bank and its service provider entered into an assurance of discontinuance with the Iowa Attorney General and the Iowa Division of Banking, settling an investigation into allegedly usurious...more