People v. Lee

In this case, we are called upon to determine whether there is probable cause to find that a loan occurred within the meaning of the usury statute, MCL 438.41; MSA 19.15(51), where a person purchases a used watch and grants the seller an option to later repurchase the watch at a significantly higher price. Specifically, we must decide whether there was probable cause to believe that defendants’ act of exchanging $2,600 for a used Rolex and an option to repurchase the watch a month later for $3,250 plus four percent sales tax constitutes a loan. We conclude that there was not probable cause to…