State National Bank v. Lew

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Today, the D.C. Circuit Court handed down a favorable ruling in CEI’s case challenging the constitutionality of key provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas et al. v. Lew et al. A courageous, small Texas bank, the 60 Plus Association, and 11 states join CEI in this lawsuit seeking to invalidate major elements of the law because of the unprecedented, unchecked power it gives to agencies created by Dodd-Frank, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

To learn more about this case visit cei.org/doddfrank.

Statement by Sam Kazman, Competitive Enterprise Institute general counsel:

“The DC Circuit’s ruling today opens the door to a court test of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s constitutionality. Since Dodd-Frank’s enactment five years ago this month, the CFPB has inflicted damage on huge segments of our economy. Its powers are so free-roaming that they are unprecedented in our history. The fact that our standing to challenge the CFPB has been upheld is great news for us, the plaintiffs, and even greater news for the American public.”

Statement by Jim Purcell, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, which is the lead plaintiff in the case.

“As a small community bank out in West Texas, we’ve always felt pretty vulnerable to the regulatory burdens imposed on us by Washington, D.C. In recent years, that threat was epitomized for us by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency which was alarmingly free of traditional checks and balances. We never quite understood why the Bureau objected to having its constitutionality tested in court. On behalf of the bank, its customers, and the American public, we’re extremely gratified that we’ll now have the chance to put this agency to that test.”

Legal filings:
June 21, 2012 – Original Complaint