AFSA Touts Ruling in Dayton Case

The American Financial Services Association has issued a cautious claim of victory following an Ohio judge's decision that state law pre-empts the city of Dayton's predatory lending law.AFSA is involved in lawsuits against six cities that have passed predatory lending legislation, arguing that states occupy the field of mortgage regulation. Three of those cities are in Ohio, and Dayton is the first in the country that a judge has ruled on. "The court's decision is consistent with [AFSA's] arguments," the financial trade association said in a recent statement. "While we believe that the reasoning of Judge Davis in this case would be equally applicable to the cases pending in Cleveland, Toledo, and Dayton, AFSA respects the judicial prerogatives in those jurisdictions and will wait accordingly for the decisions in those cases."