Lake Benton First National Bank v. Watt

Citations

• 184 U.S. 151
• 22 S. Ct. 457
• 46 L. Ed. 475
• 1902 U.S. LEXIS 2295

Syllabus

<p>The provision in Rev. Stat. §5198, that “ 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 debt, twice the amount of the interest thus paid,” on the one hand causes a forfeiture of the entire interest to result from the taking, receiving, reserving or charging a rate greater than is allowed by law, and on the other subjects the creditor to pay twice the amount of the interest illegally exacted if, by persistence in wrongdoing, he subjects the debtor to the necessity of suing to recover.</p>