Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L. L. C. (2008)
- Docket
- 08-453
- Decided
- 2008-01-01
Summary
Question: Are state officials precluded from regulating and enforcing banking activities governed by the National Bank Act and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's regulations? Conclusion: No. The Supreme Court held that the OCC's interpretation of the NBA that precluded state officials from regulating and enforcing banking activities was not reasonable. With Justice Antonin G. Scalia writing for the majority and joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer, the Court distinguished between a state's "visitorial powers" – its supervisory powers – and its enforcement powers. The Court stated that the NBA only prevented a state from exercising its visitorial powers over banks. Therefore, the Court reasoned that a state was not precluded from exercising its ordinary powers to enforce state laws. Justice Clarence Thomas concurred in part and dissented in part. He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel A. Alito. Justice Thomas argued that because the definition of "visitorial powers" was ambiguous, the courts should have deferred to the OCC's interpretation of the term in the NBA.