Federal court rules FIRREA trumps state law.(Industry and Institute News)

States cannot require the use of a certified appraiser for transactions below the de minimis level. So ruled a federal district court in a March 31, 2004, decision that found that to the extent the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act conflicts with Pennsylvania state law, FIRREA supercedes. The court held that FIRREA included transactions below the de minimis level in its definition of federally related transactions. Federal regulations exempt transactions below the de minimis level from the certified appraiser requirement. This ruling may mean that states cannot require what federal law specifically exempts, i.e., that …