Synovus Bank v. Griner

The question of whether the overdraft and overdraft protection fees at issue constituted interest under Georgia law could not be determined at the pleadings stage, given the broad definitions of interest found in the civil and criminal usury statutes.

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The plaintiffs in this case, account holders at state-chartered, federally-insured banks, filed this action against the banks asserting that the overdraft fees the banks charged in connection with debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals violated Georgia’s usury laws. This appeal presents the question of whether the plaintiffs have pled sufficient facts to allow them to proceed to discovery on their claims, or whether the trial court erred in denying the banks’ motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. For the reasons set forth below, we find that the plaintiffs’ pleadings are sufficient to allow them to proceed to discovery, and we therefore affirm the order of the trial court denying the motion to dismiss.

The standard for dismissal of a complaint under OCGA § 9-11-12 b 6 for failure to state a claim is settled and familiar. A complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim only if its allegations, when viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, “disclose with certainty that no set of facts consistent with the allegations could be proved that would entitle the plaintiff to the relief he seeks.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Benedict v. State Farm Bank, FSB, 309 Ga. App. 133, 134 1 709 SE2d 314 2011. “Put another way, ‘if, within the framework of the complaint, evidence may be introduced which will sustain a grant of relief to the plaintiff, the complaint is sufficient.’ ” Citation and punctuation omitted. Id. “ Like the court below, when we assess the sufficiency of the complaint on appeal, we must accept the allegations of fact that appear in the complaint and view those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Citation omitted. Bush v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 313 Ga. App. 84, 89 720 SE2d 370 2011. And on appeal, we owe no deference to the decision of the court below, but instead decide for ourselves whether the complaint states a claim upon which relief might properly be granted. Benedict, 309 Ga. App. at 134 1.

Synovus Bank v. Griner

The question of whether the overdraft and overdraft protection fees at issue constituted interest under Georgia law could not be determined at the pleadings stage, given the broad definitions of interest found in the civil and criminal usury statutes.

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