Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States v. Scali

A decree of foreclosure of a residential loan was entered by the circuit court of Lake County in favor of plaintiff, The Equitable Life Assurance Society, against the defendants, Mauro L. and Joanna Scali, husband and wife. The Appellate Court, Second District, reversed, holding the mortgage loan to be usurious (75 Ill. App. 2d 255), and we granted leave to appeal.

Plaintiff made a loan upon the new home of defendants for $25,000 bearing five per cent interest, which loan was completed March 21, 1958. Equitable’s uniform practice at that time was to require a borrower to assign a permanent (as…