Judge Rakoff

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In an opinion posted online today, Judge Rakoff allowed the federal government to proceed with civil claims against Countrywide and Bank of America under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, or “FIRREA,” for having misrepresented the quality of home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  FIRREA applies only to conduct that “affects” a federally-insured financial institution, and Judge Rakoff, reaching the same conclusion as Judge Kaplan (see our prior post here), rejected the defendants’ argument that FIRREA could not be premised on a defendant allegedly “affecting” itself:
Continue Reading Judge Rakoff Rules that Bank Misconduct “Affects” the Bank Itself Under FIRREA

A group of merchants sued the New York Attorney General last month to enjoin a law they claimed prohibited them from using the label “surcharge” to describe additional fees for credit card purchases (see our prior post).  The Attorney General Friday moved to dismiss, and argued that the merchants had misinterpreted the law:
Continue Reading NYAG Defends Credit Card “Surcharge” Law, Claims It Applies Only When Surcharge is Hidden

Yesterday, a group of merchants moved, on First Amendment Grounds, to enjoin a New York law that allows merchants to charge different prices for cash and credit card purchases, but prohibits them from calling the extra charge for credit card purchases a “surcharge”: The motion begins:
Continue Reading Merchants Move to Enjoin New York Law Against Describing Extra Charges to Credit Card Customers As “Surcharges”