Florida Justices Withdraw Opinion Regarding Supreme Court Payday Advance Decision
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
According to The Daily Comet, the Florida Supreme Court recently withdrew an opinion that had voided arbitration clauses in payday loan/check cashing contracts because it was reversed in February by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Florida justices had ruled state courts should decide whether customer payday advance contracts are valid before arbitration provisions could be enforced, but their federal counterparts disagreed, finding that disputes first go to arbitration under federal law.
The case involved a lawsuit that John Cardegna, a Palm Beach County fire-rescue dispatcher, filed against Buckeye Check Cashing Inc. He alleged the $3,000 in fees he was charged for cashing and holding a $300 check for two years amounted to an illegally high interest rate.That issue was put on hold pending the dispute over whether it should be decided in court or through arbitration.
The Florida high court ruled 5-1 last year that it should go to court first for a ruling on whether the payday cash loan contract was valid. The federal justices reversed that decision 7-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent.
