Usury—Applying State Usury Penalty to a National Bank When It Is the Assignee of a Conditional Sales Contract—<i>Robertson v. Burnett</i>, <i>Hills v. Burnett</i> (Neb. 1961)

Companion cases, decided in June 1961 by the Nebraska Supreme Court, were essentially similar with respect to their factual situations. In each, a buyer and a seller contracted for the sale of a house trailer, the transaction consisting of the signing of a promissory note by the buyer in accordance with a conditional sales contract, and a subsequent assignment of the note, by the seller, to a national bank located in Michigan. The certificate of title, which was in the name of the buyer, noted a lien by the national bank, and was at all times in the possession of the bank after the assignment of the note. A payment book was issued by the bank to the buyer, and he made all installment payments directly to the bank.

The Nebraska Supreme Court, affirming the decision of the trial court, held that the transaction was a usurious installment loan rather than a valid time sale.