§ 37-4 — Loans at greater rate than twelve per cent prohibited.

Connecticut § 37-4

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 37: Interest

Text

No person and no firm or corporation or agent thereof, other than a pawnbroker as provided in section 21-44, shall, as guarantor or otherwise, directly or indirectly, loan money to any person and, directly or indirectly, charge, demand, accept or make any agreement to receive therefor interest at a rate greater than twelve per cent per annum.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 6779.) Meaning of “mortgage”; assignment of wages. 82 C. 232. Section valid. Id.; 83 C. 1; 218 U.S. 563. Whether contract is made in evasion of section is question of fact. 91 C. 601. Does not apply to “guarantee of loan”. 93 C. 647. Particularity required in information. Id., 646. Does not apply to receipt of higher rate of interest as a gift. Id., 668. “Agreement” constitutes separate offense. Id., 669. Necessity of proving wrongful intent. 94 C. 148; 101 C. 558; 118 C. 4. Defense of usury on part of endorser in due course. 97 C. 320; 99 C. 684. Defense of usury of accommodation endorser with knowledge of usurious agreement. 101 C. 560; 102 C. 37. Cited. 107 C. 280. A larger price fixed in good faith by a seller because sale is on time and not for cash does not make contract usurious. 110 C. 259; 117 C. 254. Cited. 111 C. 87; 113 C. 571. History of usury statutes. 120 C. 665. Voluntary taking or reservation of more than legal interest is per se usurious; specific intent to violate section is not essential. 123 C. 94. Usurious note, found not to represent loan as such but to constitute separate obligation given as collateral security, will not prevent recovery on loan. 124 C. 489. Cited. 125 C. 317. Renewal notes as tainted with usury of original. 126 C. 339. Cited. 128 C. 61; 130 C. 19. Method of determining if note violates usury statutes; bonus for use of money counts as interest; intent to violate statute as a matter of law. Id., 552. Jury could reasonably have found that transaction was a usurious loan in violation of statute rather than a bona fide sale of the note. 138 C. 636. Cited. 139 C. 425; 141 C. 301; 145 C. 342, 465; 149 C. 159; 153 C. 400; 172 C. 395; Id., 520; 180 C. 491; 193 C. 304; 211 C. 613. Section applies to pawnbroker repurchase agreements. 313 C. 535. Cited. 2 CA 119. Statute does not apply to sales on credit. 3 CA 306. Cited. 6 CA 88. Provisions of this statute and Sec. 37-8 bar a deficiency judgment in this case. Id., 691. Cited. 21 CA 131; 27 CA 628; 31 CA 455; 41 CA 754; 44 CA 439; Id., 471. Statute does not apply when indebtedness arose from purchase of educational and related services, rather than from a loan of money. 53 CA 455. Interest rate in stipulated judgment that exceeded 12 per cent limitation under section was usurious as a matter of law. 133 CA 773. Cited. 1 CS 160. Promissory note and certificate of indebtedness executed simultaneously held to be one transaction and the loan usurious. 6 CS 49. Payee not entitled to charge interest upon whole sum, only upon that part which remains payable. 7 CS 424. Intent necessary to constitute usury. 8 CS 244. Does not apply to any loan made by any national bank or any state bank or trust company incorporated in Connecticut. 32 CS 245. Cited. 36 CS 183. Where there are only a few percentage points difference in usury laws of this state and those of another state and both states have a substantial relationship to the transaction, court will apply the usury laws of state which gives validity to the contract. 39 CS 510. Cited. 6 Conn. Cir. Ct. 283.