In a recent and controversial ruling, Judge Roy K. Altman remanded a case back to state court, but his treatment of the law, particularly with regard to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and key federal statutes, is both troubling and legally indefensible. The plaintiffs cited well-established legal principles to support their claims, yet Judge Altman dismissed them without adequate explanation, as though these laws simply don’t exist. Most disturbingly, his ruling extends to dismissing the very foundational principles of U.S. financial law, including the legitimacy of the Federal Reserve Note and its origins in House Joint Resolution 192 of June 5, 1933 (Public Law 73-10)—a claim that is, frankly, nonsense.
When a purported borrower takes out a loan from a bank, it may seem as if the bank is lending its own money. However, under 12 U.S.C. § 83, banks are prohibited from lending their own funds. Instead, the bank uses the purported borrower’s promissory note—created through the borrower’s signature—as the source of credit. This note, becomes an asset on the bank’s books, allowing it to generate credit entries for a private monetary system without using its own capital. Importantly, no money leaves a bank account; all the credit generated is based on accounting entries.