Delaware’s No-Usury-Cap Rule Deemed Unenforceable as Contrary to New York Public Policy in FDCPA Class Action
By Andrew C. Glass, Roger L. Smerage, and Brandon R. Dillman
The Southern District of New York recently refused to enforce Delaware’s no-usury-cap rule in a long-running Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) class action, concluding that the rule violates New York public policy. See Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 2017 WL 758518 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 27, 2017). In Madden, the plaintiff claimed that the defendants charged her an interest rate in excess of the limit imposed by New York law, triggering a violation of the FDCPA. The case has a long history. We first addressed the case in a client alert after the Second Circuit determined that National Bank Act preemption does not apply to debt purchased by independent, third parties. The United States Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision, a ruling about which we blogged.