California Disclosures for Financial Products Are Constitutional

California commercial financing businesses must continue to provide certain lending information after the state agency requiring the disclosure fended off a First Amendment challenge from a trade group before a federal appeals court.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Tuesday upheld a lower court’s decision to toss a lawsuit brought by the Small Business Finance Association. The complaint alleged the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s disclosure regime forces commercial financing providers to misleadingly describe their offerings.

The required disclosures, which include four different figures and descriptions the financier must show consumers about their offer, don’t ...