On May 23, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that in determining whether a commercial loan is usurious under Texas state law, the “actuarial method” must be employed. This requires the applicable amount of...more
On May 23, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the maximum permissible interest on a loan must be calculated using the declining principal balance rather than the initial total principal amount. This decision was in...more
On February 13, 2025, a New York intermediate appellate court affirmed the grant of summary judgment against energy companies that defaulted on their loan obligations. In 2020 and 2021, an engineering firm specializing in...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 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
On March 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a district court’s denial of a borrower’s motion to dismiss lender claims. Applying the New York Court of Appeals’ guidance from certified questions,...more
On June 9, 2020, the Colorado District Court issued an order stating that federal interest rate exportation authority under Section 27 of the Federal Depository Insurance Act does not extend to non-bank entities that purchase...more
On August 13, 2018, the California Supreme Court answered a question certified to it by the Ninth Circuit, holding that a loan with a high interest rate can be unconscionable, even if the legislature specifically declined to...more
Entering into a loan transaction that also has an equity component, such as the issuance of shares or warrants, has previously given rise to some concern that the loan could ultimately run afoul of the 60 percent criminal...more
On January 3, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California certified for appellate review its August 31, 2016 Order finding that a California-based payday lending company used a “rent-a-tribe” scheme...more
Although it is reasonably unlikely that other circuit courts will follow the Second Circuit decision, it is uncertain whether application of the Madden case in the Second Circuit will be confined to its facts....more
In an amicus curiae brief, the US Solicitor General recommends that the petition for certiorari in Madden be denied, but agrees that the Second Circuit’s decision is incorrect and emphasizes the importance of banks being able...more
On August 12, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied Midland Funding, LLC and Midland Credit Management (collectively, “Midland”)’s petition for panel rehearing, or, in the alternative,...more
On May 22, 2015, in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC (“Madden”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the application of state usury laws to third-party assignees is not preempted by the National...more
The Second Circuit recently issued a National Bank Act preemption decision with significant implications for purchasers of loans and other debt from national banks. See Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, --- F.3d ---, 2015 WL...more
In a case of first impression that has important implications for lenders in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held this term that a usury savings clause in a commercial loan document does not validate an otherwise...more