2016年美国Madden案件判决

2016年美国Madden案件判决：美国最高法院在对消费者债务市场有重大意义的案件上寻求副总检察长的意见（英文版） On March 21, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it has called for the views of the Solicitor General in connection with the certiorari petition in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2015), a decision restricting non-bank loan purchasers from benefitting from the National Bank Act's (the "NBA") state usury law preemption. The Court's invitation for a submission by the Solicitor General keeps alive the possibility for further review of the controversial Madden decision.

Background

In 2008, the issuer of Ms. Madden's credit card, a national bank located in Delaware, charged off and sold her defaulted debt to a non-bank purchaser. Madden, 786 F.3d at 248. Madden, a New York resident, later filed a putative class action lawsuit alleging that application by the non-bank and an affiliated servicer of a 27 percent annual interest rate, while permissible under Delaware law, violated New York's usury law. Id. The defendants argued that they, the assignees of a national bank located in Delaware, were permitted by the NBA to charge the maximum interest rate permitted under Delaware law. Id. at 250.

The NBA permits national banks to "charge on any loan . . . interest at the rate allowed by the laws of the State, Territory, or District where the bank is located." 12 U.S.C. § 85.1 The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the NBA preempts state-law usury claims against national banks. See Marquette Nat'l Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp., 439 U.S. 299, 314-18 (1978). Accordingly, it is well established that a national bank located in Delaware can lawfully charge interest rates permissible in Delaware, regardless of usury limitations in the borrower's home state. See id.

Second Circuit's Reasoning

The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants on the grounds that the NBA preempted Madden's usury claim. Madden, 786 F.3d at 249. The Second Circuit reversed, holding that, although NBA preemption "may extend to entities beyond a national bank itself," the defendants could not benefit from the NBA's preemptive effect. Id. at 249, 251-52.

In applying the "significant interference" preemption analysis, the Second Circuit determined that precluding a non-bank debt purchaser from charging an interest rate available to the assignor national bank would not "significantly interfere with [the] national bank's ability to exercise its power under the NBA."...