Client Alerts

High Court to Revisit Federal Preemption

By John L. Douglas, V. Gerard Comizio, Lawrence D. Kaplan, Stephen B. Kinnaird, Kevin L. Petrasic and Helen Y. Lee

This spring, the United States Supreme Court will hear Cuomo v. The Clearing House Association, L.L.C. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The case addresses whether Section 484 of the National Bank Act (NBA) and the OCCs regulations thereunder prohibit the New York State Attorney General (NYAG) from examining national banks with respect to certain state laws that are not otherwise subject to federal preemption. Section 484 of the NBA provides the OCC with exclusive visitorial powers over national banks. A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the NYAG could have a dramatic effect on both national banks and federal savings banks. Amici briefs on this important case must be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court no later than March 25, 2009, under the current schedule.