12 U.S.C. § 86
Section 86 · Usurious interest; penalty for taking; limitations
Applied in 155 court decisions — leading case Deposit Guaranty National Bank v. Roper (1980)
Most recently applied in Estate of Joseph Maglioli v. Alliance HC Holdings, LLC (October 2021)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 12 U.S.C. § 85 · 28 U.S.C. § 1331 · 28 U.S.C. § 1441
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The taking, receiving, reserving, or charging a rate of interest greater than is allowed by section 85 of this title, when knowingly done, shall be deemed a forfeiture of the entire interest which the note, bill, or other evidence of debt carries with it, or which has been agreed to be paid thereon. In case the greater rate of interest has been paid, the person by whom it has been paid, or his legal representatives, may recover back, in an action in the nature of an action of debt, twice the amount of the interest thus paid from the association taking or receiving the same: Provided, That such action is commenced within two years from the time the usurious transaction occurred.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
R.S. §5198 (less last sentence) derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, §30, 13 Stat. 108, which was the National Bank Act. See section 38 of this title.
Section is based on R.S. §5198, less last sentence as added by act Feb. 18, 1875, ch. 80, §1, 18 Stat. 320, which is classified to section 94 of this title.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
One form of action, see rule 2, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.