Sixth Circuit Judges Wrestle With Fifth Third Loan Disclosures

An Ohio jury correctly determined that Fifth Third Bancorp customers understood how much they were paying for an alternative to payday loans, despite the bank’s incorrect interest rate calculations, the lender told a federal appeals panel.

The jury appropriately relied on the “voluntary payor” defense in rejecting breach-of-contract claims that could’ve cost the bank up to $440 million, attorneys representing Fifth Third said in arguments Wednesday before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

“It was clear from the evidence that the plaintiffs knew everything that was relevant to them,” said Craig Singer, a Williams & Connolly LLP ...