John Conti, et al. v. Citizens Bank, N.A.

Providence, Rhode Island, consumer law lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on banking law violations.



Rhode Island General Laws

section 19-9-2(a) requires all banks operating within the state to

pay mortgage borrowers interest on the funds they deposit into

mortgage-escrow accounts. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-9-2(a). In

July 2021, John Conti, representing a putative class, sued Citizens

Bank, N.A. ("Citizens"), a national banking association chartered

under the National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. § 21 et seq., alleging that

Citizens failed to pay interest on mortgage-escrow accounts as

required by the Rhode Island statute.

Citizens moved to dismiss the case, see Fed R. Civ. P.

12(b)(6), arguing that the National Bank Act preempts the

application of the Rhode Island statute to national banks. The

district court agreed and dismissed Conti's complaint. Conti

appealed. While the appeal was pending, the United States Supreme

Court decided Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A., 602 U.S. 205

(2024), which clarified the legal standard for preemption under

the National Bank Act.

The First Circuit concluded that the district court, writing without the

benefit of Cantero, incorrectly granted Citizens' motion to

dismiss on the ground that the National Bank Act preempted the

Rhode Island statute and vacated the judgment and remanded

for further proceedings.