Complete Preemption Allows Removal Of State Usury Claim

A defense based on federal law ordinarily is not a sufficient basis to remove a case to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, clarified that an exception exists for cases in which a federal statute wholly displaces the state-law cause of action through complete pre-emption. Resolving a split between the Eighth and Eleventh circuits, the Court in Beneficial Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1 (June 2, 2003), held that a state usury case brought against a national bank could be removed because the National Bank Act provides the exclusive cause of action for such claims.