AFSA v. City of Oakland (2005) 34 Cal.4th 1239

Horvitz & Levy LLP was retained in this California Supreme Court case by the National Home Equity Mortgage Association to prepare an amicus curiae brief addressing whether the City of Oakland’s local ordinance regulating "sub-prime lending" within the city’s boundaries is preempted by the state’s anti-predatory lending law. (See Fin. Code, §§ 4970, 4971.)

In a 4-3 decision that twice quoted Horvitz & Levy’s amicus brief, the Supreme Court held that the municipal ordinance was preempted. The Court reasoned that despite the absence of express preemptive language in the state law, the scope of its provisions indicated the Legislature’s implicit intent to fully occupy the field of predatory lending tactics in home mortgages. The AFSA decision is important because it clarifies the operation of California’s doctrine of implied preemption and, in so doing, has helped to define the balance of power between California’s state government and local governments around the state.

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