The Fourth District Court of Appeals has asked the state Supreme Court to hear a 2008 case in which an Onalaska woman claims a payday lender charged excessive interest on loans. A circuit court judge already sided against Payday Loan Stores of Wisconsin, which sued after the woman defaulted on loans with annual interest rates of more than 1,300-percent.
State Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), a long-time advocate of reforming the payday loan industry, says the case is another example of how predatory lending harms the public.
Hintz agrees with the appellate judges, who argued the Supreme Court should rule on the case because of the potential statewide impact it could have on consumer credit. He says the case could help to show these types of practices are not acceptable.
Hintz worries changes to payday lending rules included in the recently passed state budget will only lead to similar cases in the future.
There’s no word on whether the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case.
