Haas v. Pittsburgh National Bank

60 F.R.D. 604, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1008, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12403
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 6, 1973
DocketCiv. A. No. 72-968
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 60 F.R.D. 604 (Haas v. Pittsburgh National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haas v. Pittsburgh National Bank, 60 F.R.D. 604, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1008, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12403 (W.D. Pa. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

TEITELBAUM, District Judge.

This is a consumer class action brought by plaintiff, Mary D. Haas, individually and on behalf of a class of persons similarly situated, against defendants Pittsburgh National Bank (PNB), Mellon National Bank and Trust Company (Mellon) and Western Pennsylvania National Bank (WPNB), to recover statutory damages for alleged violation of the National Bank Act (12 U. S.C. §§ 85, 86), the Pennsylvania Goods and Services Installments Sales Act (69 P.S. § 1101 et seq.), the Pennsylvania Banking Code of 1965 (7 P.S. § 301 et seq.) and the Truth-In-Lending Act (15 U.S.C. § 1640).

Defendants presently, and during a period of two years preceding the filing of this action, have contracted to issue BankAmericard or Master Charge cards to numerous Pennsylvania residents.1 The Master Charge and BankAmericard credit plans are generically referred to as revolving credit plans. The sequence of events surrounding their issuance and implementation is as follows:

A prospective cardholder must fill out and submit to defendant banks a credit application form which contains the individual’s credit information and the terms of the agreement. The application is reviewed by the respective defendants and if it is approved, he is issued a plastic “BankAmericard” or “Master Charge” card. The cardholder may then purchase merchandise or services at various retail establishments which subscribe to the “BankAmericard” or “Master Charge” revolving credit plans and charge the price of such purchases to the revolving charge account established in his name by the defendants. The participating retail establishment submits a sales draft to the defendants for the cardholder’s purchases and the defendants pay the face amount of the sales draft, less an agreed discount. Payment by a defendant bank on a “BankAmericard” or “Master Charge” sales draft constitutes a loan of money to the cardholder.2 The cardholder thereafter receives by mail a thirty-day statement of his account. At his or her option, the cardholder may pay the cash price of purchases made on his revolving credit account up to thirty days following his previous billing date without paying a thirty-day charge. At that time, if the cardholder has still not paid the cash price for his purchases, the purchases are merged into the account for the purpose of establishing an outstanding balance upon which a one and [607]*607one-quarter percent thirty-day interest charge is assessed.

In Count I of her complaint the plaintiff claims that the defendants’ charge in excess of one percent per thirty days against her revolving credit account is usurious under the National Bank Act and the Pennsylvania Banking Code of 1965 in charging interest at a rate exceeding 12% per annum. The defendants contend that the statute applicable is 69 P.S. § 1501 which permits a finance charge of 15% per annum.

Payments and credits that occur subsequent to the previous billing date, are not deducted or otherwise taken into account in determining the outstanding balance upon which the finance charge is imposed. This system of calculating interest is referred to as the “previous balance method”. Plaintiff’s Second Count alleges that inasmuch as under this method money which may have been substantially paid the day after the carrying charge was imposed, the previous balance method of calculating interest violates the National Bank Act and the Goods and Services Installment Sales Act.

Count III of the complaint claims that it is unlawful to charge one and one-quarter percent on her revolving credit account’s outstanding balance every thirty days instead of every calendar month because the effect is to charge an annual percentage rate in excess of one and one-quarter percent per month allowed by the National Bank Act and the Goods and Services Installment Sales Act.

Because the defendants allegedly compound interest, that is, charge interest on interest in computing the finance charge imposed on her revolving credit account, the plaintiff alleges in Count IV that the defendants violate the provisions of the National Bank Act and the Pennsylvania Goods and Services Installment Sales Act.

In Count V, the plaintiff claims that the defendants are understating the true annual interest rate on “Master Charge” and “BankAmericard” charge accounts by disclosing an annual percentage interest rate based on a 360 day year instead of a calendar year in violation of the Truth-In-Lending Act. It is as to this count that defendant PNB has moved for summary judgment.

The case is here on four motions submitted by the parties: (1) the motion of all defendants to dismiss Counts I through IV for lack of jurisdiction, (2) PNB’s motion for summary judgment as to Count V of the complaint, (3) WPNB’s motion to dismiss all counts for failure to state a cause of action against it and (4) plaintiff’s motion for class determination. Although they are to some extent interconnected, the motions will be dealt with in the order set out above.

I.

Plaintiff contends that this Court has jurisdiction over Counts I through IV of her complaint by virtue of 28 U.S.C. § 1337, which provides, inter alia, that: “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action or proceeding arising under any Act of Congress regulating commerce. . . .” In addition, plaintiff contends that jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1355 which gives U. S. District Courts “original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of any action or proceeding for the recovery or enforcement of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture, pecuniary or otherwise, incurred under any Act of Congress.”

Defendants counter that jurisdiction exists under neither § 1337 nor § 1355 and in addition, urge that federal jurisdiction, should it be found, should be declined under the doctrine of abstention.

Jurisdiction is properly founded under 28 U.S.C. § 1337 over a cause of action arising under the National Bank Act. The National Bank Act is an “Act of Congress regulating commerce” within the meaning of that section.

[608]*608The issues raised in this regard by the defendants have been recently and extensively considered by three Circuit Courts and in each instance subject matter jurisdiction was found to exist under § 1337. Cupo v. Community National Bank & Trust Co. of New York, 438 F.2d 108 (2d Cir. 1971), was an action to set aside the election of directors of a national bank. It was alleged that plaintiff had been wrongfully denied election as a director in violation of § 61 of the National Bank Act which guarantees the right of cumulative voting to shareholders of national banks. The Cupo court explicitly held that the National Bank Act is an act regulating commerce for purposes of § 1337, citing Murphy v.

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Bluebook (online)
60 F.R.D. 604, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1008, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haas-v-pittsburgh-national-bank-pawd-1973.