California Corporate & Securities Law

California limits the amount of interest that may be charged on loans and forbearances. While that is the general rule, there are numerous statutory exemptions. One of those exemptions can be found in California Corporations Code § 25118(b) which...

Does California's usury limitations constitute a "strong public policy"?  Seemingly, that question was decided over a half-century ago by the First District Court of Appeal in Ury v. Jewelers Acceptance Corp., 227 Cal. App. 2d 11, 20, 38 Cal. Rptr....

Notably, California has a constitutional limitation on interest rates (Cal. Const. Art. XV, Section 1).   Section 25118 exempts certain evidences of indebtedness that meet specified conditions.  One of these conditions is that either:

California courts have defined "usury" as "the exacting, taking or receiving of a greater rate than is allowed by law, for the use or loan of money." Ross v. Wheeler 140 Cal. App. 217, 222 (1934). The California Constitution sets the maximum rate of...