WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court has chosen not to review a lower court decision that strengthened states’ powers to ban high-cost loans.
Several trade groups for the consumer finance industry had asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals from May 2015. In that case, a debt-collection firm had been sued by a borrower in New York for charging an interest rate that exceeded New York’s usury cap, with the lower court ruling in favor of the plaintiff.
The defendant, the debt-collection company Madden Funding, filed the appeal with the Supreme Court, but that court has opted not to hear the appeal. It did not provide a reason for turning the case away.
At issue was whether nonbank companies can purchase loans from banks and in the process retain the power banks have to exceed state usury caps.