Bank of America v. City & County of San Francisco

This appeal arises from the passage of municipal ordinances (the “Ordinances”) by the cities of San Francisco and Santa Monica (the “Cities”) prohibiting banks from charging ATM fees to non-depositors. Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, the California Bankers Association, and subsequently, California Federal Bank, see infra (The “Banks”) filed an action against the Cities seeking to invalidate the Ordinances. The district court (1) found that the Ordinances were preempted by the Home Owners’ Lpan Act (“HOLA”), 12 *556 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1470 , and the National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. § 24 (Seventh); (2) rejected the Cities’ argument that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693 -1693r, permits the Cities to regulate ATM fees as a consumer protection measure; and (3) granted summary judgment in favor of the Banks and entered a permanent injunction prohibiting the Cities from enforcing the Ordinances. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In October and November of 1999, the cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco enacted virtually identical ordinances prohibiting “financial institutions” from charging ATM fees to…