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BANK ONE, COLUMBUS, N.A., Appellant, v. Jennifer M. MAZAIKA and Daniel A. Mazaika, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Appellees. In re CITIBANK (SOUTH DAKOTA) CREDIT CARD LITIGATION

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania1996-07-29
545 Pa. 115680 A.2d 845

Summary

Holding. The Superior Court's orders denying the banks' motions to dismiss are reversed. Out-of-state national banks are permitted under federal law to assess flat fees (including annual fees, late payment fees, NSF fees, and overlimit fees) on Pennsylvania residents' credit card accounts according to the law of the bank's home state, and such fees are not subject to Pennsylvania's fee limitation statutes.

Two class action lawsuits challenged whether out-of-state national banks could charge Pennsylvania credit card holders fees that violated Pennsylvania's fee limitations. The banks argued that federal law permitted them to charge such fees regardless of state law restrictions. The Superior Court had ruled that because the contested charges were flat fees rather than percentage-based charges, they did not qualify as 'interest' under federal banking law and therefore remained subject to Pennsylvania's consumer protection statutes. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed, holding that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Smiley v. Citibank established that flat fees connected to credit cards do constitute 'interest' within the meaning of federal law. Under this interpretation, out-of-state national banks may charge such fees according to the law of their home state, regardless of Pennsylvania restrictions.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether flat fees on credit cards constitute 'interest' under Section 85 of the National Bank Act
  • Whether out-of-state national banks must comply with Pennsylvania fee limitation statutes
  • The scope of federal preemption over state consumer protection laws for national banks

Procedural posture

The court consolidated appeals from Superior Court orders that had denied out-of-state national banks' motions to dismiss class action litigation brought by Pennsylvania credit card holders.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

FLAHERTY, Justice.

These are consolidated appeals, by allowance, from orders of the Superior Court that were entered in two class action lawsuits wherein certain out-of-state banks were alleged to have assessed improper fees against Pennsylvania residents who are holders of credit cards that the banks issued. The banks, appellants Bank One, Columbus, N.A. and Citibank (South Dakota), N.A. seek dismissal of the actions. Both cases present the question of whether, under Section 85 of the National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. § 85, out-of-state banks issuing credit cards to Pennsylvania residents must comply with Pennsylvania statutes limiting assessments for annual fees, late payments, returned (NSF) checks, and credit-limit violations. In both cases the Superior Court held that Section 85 of the National Bank Act does not exempt out-of-state national banks from compliance with our state statutes regulating such charges, where the charges are levied on a flat fee rather than percentage basis.

Section 85 provides that a national bank may charge “on any loan ... interest at the rate allowed by the laws of the State ... where the bank is located____” 12 U.S.C. § 85. It has long been recognized that, under Section 85, a national bank can charge an interest rate in a foreign state higher than the laws of the foreign state permit, if it is authorized to do so by the laws of the state in which it is located. Marquette National Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp., 439 U.S. 299, 99 S.Ct. 540, 58 L.Ed.2d 534 (1978). In the present case, the Superior Court reasoned that because the charges in question were levied as flat fees rather than as percentages of the balances due on the accounts, the fees did not constitute “interest.” The very recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), N.A., — U.S. —, 116 S.Ct. 1730, 135 L.Ed.2d 25 (1996) held to the contrary; hence, we reverse.

In Smiley, the Supreme Court held that the “interest” charges permitted by Section 85 include flat fees levied by banks in connection with credit card accounts. In reaching this conclusion, the court deferred to what it deemed to be a reasonable interpretation of the term “interest” by the Comptroller of the Currency. The Comptroller, whose responsibilities include the enforcement of federal banking laws, had adopted the following regulation:

The term “interest” as used in 12 U.S.C. § 85 includes any payment compensating a creditor or prospective creditor for an extension of credit, making available a line of credit, or any default or breach by a borrower of a condition upon which credit was extended. It includes, among other things, the following fees connected with credit extension or availability: numerical periodic rates, late fees, not suffi dent funds (NSF) fees, overlimit fees, annual fees, cash advance fees, and membership fees.

12 C.F.R. § 7.4001(a) (1996) (emphasis added).

The fees at issue in the present appeals fall directly within the purview of the Comptroller’s definition of “interest.” The Smiley decision establishes that such fees can take the form of flat fees rather than percentage-based charges. The decisions of the Superior Court to the contrary must, therefore, be reversed.

Orders reversed.

. See Goods and Services Installment Sales Act, 69 P.S. § 1101 et seq.; Banking Code of 1965, 7 P.S. § 101 et seq.; Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. § 201-1 et seq.

. The fees levied in the present cases ranged from twenty to fifty dollars for annual fees and from ten to eighteen dollars for late payments, returned (NSF) checks, and over-credit-limit charges.

. The appellees have provided notice that, in light of Smiley, they do not oppose summary reversals.