As the new Administration gets going, one of the quick decisions to be made is how they will handle Cuomo v. The Clearing House. This case, out of the Second Circuit, raises an important question about whether states can protect their citizens when the federal government — in this matter, in the form of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — fails to do so (whether under state of federal laws) and will shed some light on how the new Administration plans to approach state regulators.
A further wrinkle in this case is that the underlying state investigation — way back in 2005 — related to allegations of racial discrimination in lending practices, a topic of extensive investigation and discussion in the years that have followed.
And here is the initial underlying OCC Advisory Letter regarding state investigations — OCC AL 2002-9 — that led to the quick involvement of the federal government in support of the investigated banks.
I’ll have more on this soon, but please check out Oyez for a more in-depth overview.
[UPDATE: Illinois AG Lisa Madigan calls on the Obama Administration to reverse course in the case. Law Dork, 2.0 covers it here.]
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found