Brack v. Omni Loan Co.
California Court of Appeal
80 Cal. Rptr. 3d 275 (2008)
Brack (plaintiff), a California resident, borrowed money from a California office of Nevada-incorporated Omni Loan (defendant) under a loan agreement charging a 34.89% interest rate and lacking the interest-rate disclosures California's Finance Lenders Law requires; the agreement specified Nevada law would govern. Brack sued as a class action, alleging violations of California's Finance Lenders Law, and Omni argued the Nevada choice-of-law clause should control, insulating it from California's regulatory scheme. The trial court agreed with Omni and entered judgment for it; Brack appealed.
Whether a contractual choice-of-law provision will be enforced when the chosen state's law conflicts with a fundamental policy of the forum state and the forum state has a materially greater interest than the chosen state in resolving the issue.