Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), National Association
United States Supreme Court
517 U.S. 735 (1996)
- Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Facts
Citibank (defendant) was a bank located in South Dakota. Smiley (plaintiff) lived in California and had credit cards issued by Citibank. Pursuant to the National Bank Act of 1864 (the Act), 12 U.S.C. § 85, the laws of the state where a national bank is located determined the interest rates that the bank may charge. Citibank charged Smiley late fees that were legal in South Dakota, but that would not have been legal in California. Smiley sued Citibank, arguing that the Act’s rule regarding interest rates did not extend to late fees. The California Superior Court dismissed Smiley’s complaint, and the California Supreme Court affirmed. Shortly afterward, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal agency responsible for interpreting the Act, promulgated a new rule that explicitly included late fees within the meaning of the word “interest” for purposes of § 85. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Scalia, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
