Mohr, Inc. v. Bank of California, N. A.

443 F. Supp. 370, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20235
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJanuary 11, 1978
DocketCiv. No. 75-420
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 443 F. Supp. 370 (Mohr, Inc. v. Bank of California, N. A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mohr, Inc. v. Bank of California, N. A., 443 F. Supp. 370, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20235 (D. Or. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION

JAMES M. BURNS, District Judge.

The issue in this usury case is whether or not a bank can aggregate outstanding loans in amounts less than $50,000 advanced to a corporation pursuant to a line of credit, so that the aggregate debt can constitute “a loan or use of money involving a principal amount over $50,000” on which the bank can charge any interest.

[371]*371Plaintiff Mohr, Inc. (Company)1 commenced this action pursuant to the National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. § 86 (1970) alleging usury and seeking to recover twice the amount of interest it paid to defendant The Bank of California, N. A. (Bank) on specified promissory notes bearing 14% interest, executed between August 8, 1974, and November 4, 1974.2 Jurisdiction stems from 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331(a) and 1355.

Defendant Bank has moved the court for summary judgment against plaintiff on plaintiff’s claim against the Bank.3 There are no material issues of fact. For reasons set out hereafter, I grant defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

Plaintiff Company began borrowing from defendant Bank in 1969, when the Bank’s Loan Committee authorized a $100,000 line of credit to the Company. The line of credit did not legally obligate the Bank to loan that, or any other amount, to the Company. It did, however, create what might be called a “moral obligation” on the part of the Bank to loan the Company up to $100,000, in the aggregate, if the Company’s credit-worthiness did not deteriorate.

The Bank and Company used what is known as accounts receivable financing. It functioned as follows, in simplified form. As accounts receivable arose, Ronald Mohr would present a group of them to the Bank. The Bank would then loan the Company 80% of their face value. As the Company received payments on an account, it generally applied them toward liquidation of the note executed upon that account. At any given time, several notes were outstanding.

After December, 1972, all notes were secured by a blanket security interest in the Company’s accounts receivable, inventory and contract rights, and were guaranteed by Ronald and Sharon Mohr’s continuing guarantee in an unlimited amount. The notes were further guaranteed by an assigned life insurance policy on Ronald Mohr’s life. On March 18, 1975, all outstanding notes were consolidated into a single note.4

Each note specified in the complaint was for an amount less than $50,000. At the time each note was executed, however, the Company’s aggregate debt to the Bank exceeded $50,000 exclusive of the loan evidenced by that note. The amount of the aggregate debt fluctuated, ranging between $117,514.95 and $165,176.98.5

Prior to August, 1974, the rate of interest charged by the Bank did not exceed lls/4% per annum.6 Beginning with the note executed on August 14, 1974, the notes bore a 14% per annum rate of interest.

The statute under which plaintiff is suing, 12 U.S.C. § 86 (1970), provides, in relevant part, that a person who has paid a greater rate of interest than permitted by § 85 may recover twice the amount of interest paid. 12 U.S.C.A. § 85 (1977 Pocket Part) provides, in relevant part, that a National Bank may charge interest at a rate allowed to a state bank by state law.

At all relevant times, ORS 708.480(7) provided that:

On a loan or use of money involving a principal amount over $50,000, there is no [372]*372limitation on the interest which banks or national banks may charge. ORS 708.-480(7) (1973).7

The maximum rate of interest allowed on a loan to or use of money by a corporation in a principal amount less than $50,000 was 12% per annum. ORS 708.480(l)(a) (1975).

Plaintiff contends that since each note specified in the complaint was for an amount less than $50,000, the 12% interest limitation applied, and the Bank knowingly charged usurious interest by reason of the 14% rate.

The Bank contends that the aggregate debt, rather than the face amount of each note, determines whether there is “a loan or use of money involving a principal amount over $50,000.” It argues that, because the plaintiff’s aggregate debt exceeded $50,000 at all relevant times, there was no limitation upon the interest it could charge, and the notes were therefore not usurious.

ORS 708.480(7) (1973) is one of a series of Oregon statutes designed to exempt transactions involving more than $50,000 from the usury laws. Reference to the other statutes in the series is helpful in determining whether ORS 708.480(7) (1973) permits aggregation.

In 1971, the Oregon legislature enacted ' the first such statute, ORS 82.125, which provides:

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the defense of usury applies only to transactions that involve an amount of $50,000 or less. ORS 82.125 (1975).

In 1973, the legislature passed ORS 708.-480(7) (1973) to conform chapter 708, the banking code, to ORS 82.125. It also amended ORS 82.010 to conform to ORS 82.125 by adding a section which provides:

(4) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, the limitations of this section shall not apply to any contract or obligation in an amount in excess of $50,-000, and the parties to such contract or obligation may agree in writing to the payment of interest at a rate in excess of those set forth in subsection (1), (2), or (3) of this section. ORS 82.010(4) (1975).

Plaintiff emphasizes the phrase “contract or obligation” in ORS 82.010

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Bluebook (online)
443 F. Supp. 370, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20235, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mohr-inc-v-bank-of-california-n-a-ord-1978.