Commercial Nat. Bank of Checotah v. Phillips

1916 OK 925, 160 P. 920, 61 Okla. 179, 1916 Okla. LEXIS 847
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 31, 1916
Docket7926
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 1916 OK 925 (Commercial Nat. Bank of Checotah v. Phillips) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commercial Nat. Bank of Checotah v. Phillips, 1916 OK 925, 160 P. 920, 61 Okla. 179, 1916 Okla. LEXIS 847 (Okla. 1916).

Opinion

Opinion by

BUBFOBD, C.

This was an action instituted in the district court of McIntosh county, Okla., by S. A. Phillips as plaintiff, against the Commercial National Bank of Checotah as defendant, to recover twice the amount of usurious interest charged by the bank and paid by him. There was no allegation in the petition or proof at the trial that any demand had been made for the return of the usury. The suit being against a national bank was brought under the authority of section 5198, Bev. St. U. S. There was a demurrer to the petition, which was overruled. Thereupon the defendants answered alleging specifically that no demand for the return of the usury had been made, and denying generally the allegations of the petition. At the trial the plaintiff introduced evidence, to which the defendant demurred, and upon said demurrer being overruled introduced no evidence. Whereupon the trial court gave the jury a peremptory instruction to return a verdict for the plaintiff for the amount claimed. The evidence clearly showed that the plaintiff had carried on two transactions with the cashier of the defendant bank; that the loans were both made by and the payments made to the same officer. There was no question of any mistake in the amount.,^t the loan or in the amount paid, though tlli} defendant was somewhat in doubt as to when he paid the notes. These notes, however, were in evidence and showed the bank’s in-dorsement as to when they were paid. The notes were not usurious on their face, but the testimony clearly showed that there was included in the face of the notes an amount in excess of the principal, which, together with other payments made as interest, made the amount charged for the use of the money greatly in excess of anything that could possibly have been lawfully charged under the state statute.

It is here alleged as error (first) that the action could not be maintained for the reason that no demand for the return of the usury was alleged or proved. That such a demand is not necessary is settled by numerous decisions of this court. In Pauls Valley National Bank v. Mitchell, 55 Okla. 170. 154 Pac. 1188, it was said:

‘‘An action tó recover double the amount of usurious interest paid, against a national bank is governed by section 5198, Bevised Statutes United States (U. S. Comp. Stat. 1913, sec. 9759), and that by section 1005, Rev. Laws 1910, and it is not necessary in such an action to allege and prove a demand for the return of the usury claim.”

Thq same principle is announced in First National Bank of Wellston v. Green, 56 Okla. 698, 155 Pac. 502, First National Bank of Stigler v. Howard, 59 Okla. 134, 158 Pac. 438, and is discussed in Miller v. Oklahoma State Bank of Altus, 53 Okla. 616, 157 Pac. 767.

The additional point is made that the federal statute confers jurisdiction to entertain suits of this nature only upon state courts “having jurisdiction in similar cases,” and that inasmuch as demand is necessary, as a condition precedent to maintaining such a suit against a state bank or an individual brought under the state statute, the courts in this state have no jurisdiction to entertain a suit for the recovery of a penalty for usury against a national bank, unless demand be proved, for the' reason that unless such a demand be proved a sta[e court has no jurisdiction “of any action similar” to that arising under the federal statute. AVith this contention we are not able to agree. In our judgment the word “similar,” used in the federal statute, refers to cases of like general nature, and does not mean cases exactly the same as that under the federal statute. It has been said, beginning with Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Bank v. Dearing, 91 U. S. 29, 23 L. Ed. 196, followed and approved by this court in many cases, among them those above cited, that, in the language of that opinion, “the states can exercise no control over [national banks] nor in any wise affect their operation, except in so far as Congress may see proper to permit,” and that the state statutes in relation to usury have no relation to a national bank. Farmers’ and Mechanics’ National Bank v. Dearing, supra; Schuyler National Bank v. Gadsden, 191 U. S. 451, 24 Sup. Ct. 129, 48 L. Ed. 258, and cases cited.

The district court of McIntosh county did have jurisdiction to entertain suits for the recovery of a penalty for usury. This, in our judgment, was what was contemplated by the federal statute. Under the decisions above quoted, both of the Supreme Court of the United States and of this court, a state law could not affect the right of action given by the federal statute. It did create a right oFaction in “a similar case” and gave jurisdiction to the district court to entertain it. *181 it therefore had the right to entertain the cause of action given by the federal statute.

In Sigsbee v. Birmingham, 160 Ala. 196, 48 South. 843, the court was construing a statute providing that no election for annexation of territory to the city should be had within six months after election’had been held under that or “any similar law.” It was there held that the word “similar” did not mean “precisely like,” but “with more or less resemblance.”

In. Greenleaf v. Goodrich, 101 U. S. 278, 25 L. Ed. 845, the court was construing that part of the revenue act of 1862 fixing a duty to be paid on cloth composed of worsted wool, mohair, and goods of “similar” description. It was there said that the word “similar” was “intended to express goods like and not identical with those named.”

It is true that in its context the word “similar” may sometimes mean “exactly like.” As was said in Frankel v. Tyrolean Alps Co., 121 Mo. App. 51, 97 S. W. 961:

“Similar means: ‘(1) Exactly corresponding, resembling in all respects; precisely like. (2) Nearly corresponding, resembling in many respects; somewhat alike; having a general likeness. (3) Homogeneous; uniform.’ ”

In our judgment the word used in the federal statute as above stated means having the same general characteristics. In other words, a state court has jurisdiction to entertain suits under the federal statute when it has jurisdiction to entertain suits of any nature for the recovery of usury and the penalties provided thereon under the state statute. • In other words, when the state court has jurisdiction of a cause of action for the recovery of usury or a penalty therefor, it has jurisdiction to enforce the right given by the federal statute, the action being “similar” though not exactly alike in all characteristics. This construction is strengthened by the fact that, so far as our investigations have shown, no state court having general jurisdiction of a suit to recover a penalty for usury has ever been denied jurisdiction to entertain a suit under the federal statute, whereas, in many instances, not only in other states, but in our own in the cases above cited, the jurisdiction has been upheld. In fact, the same proposition here announced was discussed in Pauls Valley National Bank v. Mitchell, supra, where it was said:

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Bluebook (online)
1916 OK 925, 160 P. 920, 61 Okla. 179, 1916 Okla. LEXIS 847, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commercial-nat-bank-of-checotah-v-phillips-okla-1916.