On October 31, 2016, the Supreme Court of Georgia issued an opinion that is lengthy against payday loan providers in 2 instances consolidated on appeal. The 2 cases (Western Sky Financial, LLC v. State of Georgia, No. S16A1011 and State of Georgia v. Western Sky Financial, LLC, No. S16X1012) included state legislation of tribal affiliated, out-of-state payday lenders who offered loans to Georgia residents telephonically and on the internet. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia considered a true quantity of issues including if the state could sue loan providers involved with interstate business underneath the state’s Payday Lending Act (OCGA §§ 16-17-1 through 16-17-10); whether agreements created in another state had been at the mercy of that law; and whether tribal sovereignty precluded the law’s enforcement.
The defendants’ very first argument against Georgia’s attempted legislation ended up being that the Payday Lending Act excluded loans made through interstate business. [Read more...]