Capital Briefs: High Court Overturns N.J. Late-Fee Rulings

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday overturned two New Jersey court decisions that allowed the state to regulate late fees charged by out-of-state credit card companies.

It also dismissed three similar appeals from Colorado and one from California. The orders, which involved Citibank South Dakota, Greenwood Trust Co., Chase Manhattan Bank, and MBNA America, came a week after the high court ruled in the Smiley case that California may not regulate late fees charged by Citibank South Dakota.

Because two of the rejected cases involved state-chartered institutions, Michael Crotty, deputy general counsel for litigation at the American Bankers Association, said litigants should be deterred from bringing new fee challenges against local banks.