A Victory for Transparency as Court Orders Discovery in Operation Choke Point Lawsuit

May 10, 2017 | Press Releases

Alexandria, VA – The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) released the following statement regarding a decision by Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in CFSA et al. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. et al., No. 1:14-cv-00953. The court issued an order to commence discovery as soon as possible, noting that “there is no justification whatsoever for not granting Plaintiffs' Motion to Commence Discovery Immediately.” 

“We are pleased the Court has granted the motion for discovery, which will allow plaintiffs access to records and evidence in the federal government’s behind-the-scenes campaign to force banks to terminate their relationships with lawful American businesses. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and we hope that this process will expose to the light of day the wrongdoing of the government employees who cooked up this illegal campaign,” said Dennis Shaul, CEO of CFSA.

“This order is a step in the right direction as our members urgently need relief from this secretive campaign of strong-arm tactics to force banks to end profitable business relationships with licensed small-dollar lenders. If left unchecked, this campaign will force numerous companies, including small businesses in our industry and in other industries, to curtail their operations dramatically and even shut down all together,” Shaul added.

The defendants in the lawsuit are the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Thomas J. Curry, Comptroller of the OCC.