Quik Payday, Inc. v. Stork

509 F. Supp. 2d 974, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66879, 2007 WL 2581881
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedSeptember 7, 2007
Docket06-2203-JWL
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 509 F. Supp. 2d 974 (Quik Payday, Inc. v. Stork) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Quik Payday, Inc. v. Stork, 509 F. Supp. 2d 974, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66879, 2007 WL 2581881 (D. Kan. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM, District Judge.

This case arises out of sanctions imposed on Quik Payday, Inc., a Utah company offering short-term, “payday” loans over the internet, by the Kansas Office of *976 the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC), relating to loans made by plaintiff to Kansas consumers. In its present action against OSBC officials for declaratory and injunc-tive relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff alleges that Kan. Stat. Ann. § 16a-l-201 — the provision of the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) that authorized the OSBC’s regulation of plaintiff with respect to those loans — and its application by the OSBC to plaintiff violate the dormant Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. 1

This matter is presently before the Court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the statute and its application to plaintiff do not violate either the Commerce Clause or the Due Process Clause. Accordingly, the Court grants defendant’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. # 38) and denies plaintiffs motion for summary judgment (Doc. # 36), and judgment is entered in favor of defendants on all claims.

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate if the moving party demonstrates that there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact” and that it is “entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In applying this standard, the Court views the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Burke v. Utah Transit Auth. & Local 382, 462 F.3d 1253, 1258 (10th Cir.2006).

II. Facts 2

From May 2001 to January 2005, plaintiffs sole business was to provide unsecured, short-term “payday” loans to consumers by way of the internet. Plaintiff was registered with Utah’s regulatory authorities to provide such loans in accordance with Utah law. Plaintiffs offices were in Utah; plaintiff did not have any offices, employees, or other physical presence in Kansas. During this period, plaintiff made a total of 3,079 payday loans to 972 consumers who provided a Kansas address on their applications (“Kansas consumers”). Plaintiff loaned a total of $967,550.00 to the Kansas consumers, and collected a total of $485,165.00 in finance charges or fees on those loans.

Some of the Kansas consumers discovered plaintiff by way of an internet search. Others were solicited by a third-party “lead generator”, who would then gather information and forward the applications to plaintiff in Utah. In addition, some consumers who had previously borrowed from plaintiff received e-mail solicitations directly from plaintiff. After plaintiff approved the loans, the consumers would then typically transmit the loan contract with their electronic signatures to plaintiff, who would then complete the execution of the contracts in Utah (although a few consumers executed the contract by facsimile). Plaintiff would then deposit the loan proceeds into the consumers’ bank accounts, including accounts in Kansas banks. In the event of default, plaintiffs representatives or a third-party collection agency would direct e-mails, letters, and/or telephone calls into Kansas to seek repayment. Plaintiff never brought legal action in Kan *977 sas relating to a loan to a Kansas consumer.

Plaintiff did not seek a license from the Kansas OSBC pursuant to the UCCC. To obtain such a license, a lender must complete a short application; pay an application fee of $425 (with annual renewal fee of $325); obtain a surety bond, which would cost approximately $500 per year; and submit to a background and credit check.

The OSBC began investigating plaintiff after receiving a single complaint from a Kansas consumer in June 2005. On March 13, 2006, the OSBC issued to plaintiff, pursuant to the UCCC, a Summary Order to Cease and Desist, Pay Civil Penalty (Fine), to Bar from Future Application for Licensure, and to Pay Restitution for Violations. The Summary Order alleged that plaintiff made supervised loans without first having obtained a license as required by the UCCC. 3

Plaintiff timely sought a hearing with the OSBC. In addition, on May 19, 2006, plaintiff filed the instant action against defendants seeking declaratory and injunc-tive relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges that Kan. Stat. Ann. § 16a-l-201 of the UCCC is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to plaintiff by the OSBC, in violation of the Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause. The administrative proceedings were then stayed pending the outcome of this suit. 4

III. Commerce Clause

Plaintiffs payday loans to Kansas consumers fall subject to the Kansas UCCC, including its licensure requirement and other lending regulations, by virtue of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 16a-1-201. That statute provides as follows:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, K.S.A. 16a-l~101 through 16a-9-102 [the Kansas UCCC], and amendments thereto, apply to consumer credit transactions made in this state. For purposes of such sections of this act, a consumer credit transaction is made in this state if:
(b) the creditor induces the consumer who is a resident of this state to enter into the transaction by solicitation in this state by any means, including but not limited to: Mail, telephone, radio, television or any other electronic means.
(6) For the purposes of [the UCCC], the residence of a consumer is the address given by the consumer as the consumer’s residence in any writing signed by the consumer in connection with a credit transaction....

Id. (1)(b), (6). Plaintiff asserts that this statute and its application by the OSBC to plaintiff violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

“The dormant implication of the Commerce Clause prohibits state regulation that discriminates against or unduly burdens interstate commerce and thereby impedes free private trade in the national marketplace.” ACLU v. Johnson,

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Related

State ex rel. Swanson v. Integrity Advance, LLC
846 N.W.2d 435 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2014)
Quik Payday, Inc. v. Stork
549 F.3d 1302 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
509 F. Supp. 2d 974, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66879, 2007 WL 2581881, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quik-payday-inc-v-stork-ksd-2007.