Linda A. Watters, Commissioner, Michigan Office of Insurance and Financial Services v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., et al.

Subject:

National Bank Act, Mortgage Lending, National Banks, Banking Law, Federal Preemption, Tenth Amendment

1. 12 USC section 484(a) of the National Bank Act limits visitorial powers over "national banks" except as authorized by federal law . National banks are defined and created under the National Bank Act. State-chartered nonbank operating subsidiaries of national banks are created under State corporate law. The Comptroller of the Currency, by Rule 12 CFR 7.4006, made 12 USC section 484(a) equally applicable to State-chartered nonbank "operating subsidiaries" of national banks. Is the interpretation of the Comptroller of the Currency that 12 CFR 7.4006 preempts Michigan's laws regulating mortgage lending as applied to State chartered nonbank operating subsidiaries, entitled to judicial deference under Chevron USA, Inc v Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 US 837 (1984)?
   
   
2. A national bank has been declared to be a national corporation in Guthrie v Harkness, 199 US 148, 159 (1905). 12 CFR 7.4006 treats a State-chartered nonbank operating subsidiary of a national bank as equivalent to a national bank and, thus, as a national corporation. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is violated to the extent a statute permits the conversion of State corporations into federal ones in contravention of the laws of the place of their creation. Hopkins v Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v Cleary, 296 US 315, 335 (1935). Does 12 CFR 7.4006, by equating a State-chartered nonbank operating subsidiary with a national bank for purposes of federal preemption of State regulation, violate the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution?

• U.S. Court of Appeals - 6th Circuit Opinion Filed: December 19, 2005
• United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: June 19, 2006

Resources:

• Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket

Briefs:     Parties Petition Phase Respondents' Brief in Opposition Merits Phase Petitioner's Brief - Coming Soon Respondents' Brief Amicus Brief of the United States Amici Brief of Charles Turnbaugh, et al. Amici Brief of Administrative Law Professors Amicus Brief of the New England Legal Foundation Amici Brief of the Nat'l Ass'n of Realtors Amicus Brief of National City Bank Amici Brief of Economists and Scholars Amicus Brief of the Chamber of Commerce Amicus Brief of the Clearing House Ass'n Amici Brief of the American Bankers' Ass'n, et al. Amici Brief of AARP, et al.

Counsel of Record For Petitioner Linda A. Watters: Thomas L. Casey Solicitor General Office of the Attorney General Lansing, MI For Respondents Wachovia Bank, N.A., et al.: Lori McAllister Dykema Gossett PLLC Lansing, MI

Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Unscheduled | Previous Terms   To view PDF files listed on this page you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader