Barbara Smiley v. Citibank (south Dakota), N. a.

Decided June 3, 1996. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-860 · 517 U.S. 735 (1996) · Cited 629 times

Holding

The Comptroller of the Currency has reasonably interpreted the term “interest” in § 85 to include late-payment fees, see 12 CFR § 7.4001(a), and petitioner has failed to establish that the Court should not accord its customary deference to the Comptroller’s interpretation of an ambiguous provision of the National Bank Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• Marquette National Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp. · 439 U.S. 299 (1978)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
• Nationsbank of North Carolina, N. A. v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance · 513 U.S. 251 (1995)
• United States v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp. · 411 U.S. 655 (1973)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n, LLC · 557 U.S. 519 (2009)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro · 579 U.S. 211 (2016)
• United States v. LaBonte · 520 U.S. 751 (1997)
• Dada v. Mukasey · 554 U.S. 1 (2008)
• Michigan v. Envtl. Prot. Agency · 576 U.S. 743 (2015)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. v. Brand X Internet Services · 545 U.S. 967 (2005)
• Barnhart v. Walton · 535 U.S. 212 (2002)
• Dunn v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission · 519 U.S. 465 (1997)
• United States v. Home Concrete & Supply, LLC · 566 U.S. 478 (2012)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
• Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center · 568 U.S. 597 (2013)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services · 538 U.S. 644 (2003)
• Metropolitan Stevedore Co. v. Rambo · 521 U.S. 121 (1997)
• Edelman v. Lynchburg College · 535 U.S. 106 (2002)
• Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services v. Blumer · 534 U.S. 473 (2002)
• United States v. Eurodif S. A. · 555 U.S. 305 (2009)
• FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC · 604 U.S. 542 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).