Partnering with the major trades in their effort is the Utah League of Credit Unions, Tooele Federal Credit Union, Goldenwest Federal Credit Union, and America First Federal Credit Union. These credit unions were also at the center of the Utah tax fight this year, which was what prompted them to switch from federal to state charters. Filing the suit with the ABA were the Utah Bankers Association, Bank of Utah, Liberty Bank, First Utah Bank, and Frontier Bank, FSB. The credit union organizations, under the auspices of the Campaign for Consumer Choice, have filed a "memorandum in support of motion to intervene" illuminating their interest in the case and affidavits explaining why they wish to intervene. Intervening in the case would actually make the groups parties to the case, which provides them a higher standing in the case, but opens them up to consequences as well. As of deadline, NCUA had not filed its response to the charges brought by the American Bankers Association. According to NCUA Public Affairs Specialist Cherie Umbel, NCUA had until Sept. 19 to file. In order to intervene, the brief read, parties must demonstrate four qualities: 1) timeliness; 2) cognizable interest; 3) potential impairment of the interest; and 4) lack of adequate representation by existing parties. It argues that all four criteria are met. In the first instance the credit union groups noted that they filed the motion even before the defendants had a chance to respond to the charges. As for a "legally protectable" or significantly protectable" interest, the motion stated, "For example, a party has a significantly protectable interest in litigation when the outcome of the litigation will affect the interpretation of federal regulations that govern its conduct." It also noted that parties have been permitted to intervene in cases "where an action seeks the revocation of a government permit to conduct business.or where it seeks to set aside agency action that benefited the proposed intervenor." On the third prong of the test, impairment of interest, the groups said it will decide substantial FOM issues and, if not permitted to intervene, the credit union groups would not be eligible to appeal. For the final point, the petitioners said that the credit unions and its regulator may not have precisely the same interest or approach, as the Supreme Court decided in Trbovich, which permitted a labor union member to intervene on behalf of the Secretary of Labor in a suit brought by the government against the union. Paul Lambert, of the Washington, D.C.-law firm of Bingham McCutcheon, is representing the filers in the matter. Lambert also tried the infamous AT&T case that sparked the H.R. 1151 battle. The bankers' lawsuit charges that Tooele's community charter expansion, as approved by NCUA, was "arbitrary and capricious" in nature and outside the bounds of the Federal Credit Union Act. [email protected]