Tribal-law / choice-of-law clause
A contract term saying the loan is governed only by the tribe’s law — which courts have increasingly rejected.
What "tribal-law / choice-of-law clause" means
Tribal loan agreements typically include a choice-of-law clause declaring that the contract is governed exclusively by the law of the tribe, not the borrower's state. Paired with the arbitration clause, it is meant to keep state usury law out of any dispute entirely.
Courts have grown hostile to these clauses. The Second Circuit (Gingras) and others have found that a clause purporting to waive all state and federal protections is unenforceable, and in 2026 the Seventh Circuit voided a WithU Loans clause that referenced tribal law which did not actually exist.