API Supply Co. v. Premier Bank

593 So. 2d 660, 17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1185, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3686, 1991 WL 317074
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 6, 1991
DocketNo. 90 CA 0556
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 593 So. 2d 660 (API Supply Co. v. Premier Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
API Supply Co. v. Premier Bank, 593 So. 2d 660, 17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1185, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3686, 1991 WL 317074 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

CRAIN, Judge.

On September 21,1987, Terrebonne Bank and Trust Company of Houma, Louisiana, entered into a consent judgment of garnishment with Whittaker Metals, Inc. to garnish the checking account of judgment debtor, Atlantic Pacific Industries, Inc. (Atlantic Pacific). Atlantic Pacific’s account balance on that date was $19,319.15.

Sonja Babin, a Terrebonne Bank employee, received the consent judgment of garnishment at approximately 3:00 p.m. on September 21, 1987. Mrs. Babin worked at the main bank and programmed the information into the computer. She immediately thereafter notified Barry Benoit, President and majority shareholder of Atlantic Pacific of the garnishment.

On the morning of September 22, 1987, Barry Benoit and Michael M. Benoit presented at the Prospect Branch of Terre-bonne Bank. Michael Benoit is the brother of Barry Benoit, the sole shareholder of API Supply Company, Inc. (API) and the accountant of API and Atlantic Pacific. Barry is the president of Atlantic Pacific and API and is a 75% shareholder of Atlantic Pacific. Barry Benoit requested that Terrebonne Bank issue two cashier’s checks (debiting the Atlantic Pacific account) each in the sum of $9,000 with API the named payee of one check and Barry Benoit the named payee of the other check. After checking and determining that Atlantic Pacific’s account had sufficient funds to cover the two cashier’s checks, the cashier’s checks were issued.

Michael Benoit deposited the cashier’s check payable to API in the API account at Terrebonne Bank. Barry Benoit cashed his check at Terrebonne Bank immediately thereafter.

[662]*662Several minutes after these transactions and after the Benoits had departed, the teller at the Prospect Branch was notified of the garnishment. Terrebonne Bank notified the Benoits and their respective corporations of the situation. $9,000 was debited from API’s account. The bank requested a refund on the cashier’s check payable to Barry Benoit, which both Atlantic Pacific and Barry Benoit refused to refund. Several days later API purchased essentially all of the assets and some of the liabilities of Atlantic Pacific.

API instituted this action on the cashier’s check against Premier Bank of South Louisiana (Premier) which was formerly known as Terrebonne Bank. Premier filed a re-conventional demand against API and a third party action against Atlantic Pacific and Barry Benoit, Michael Benoit, Sandra M. Benoit individually as shareholders and directors of Atlantic Pacific alleging fraud, misrepresentation and ill practices by all defendants.

After trial on the merits judgment on the principal demand was rendered in favor of Premier and against API. Judgment on the third party action and reconventional demand was rendered in favor of defendant in reconvention and third party defendants.

API appealed alleging as error: (1) the trial court’s determination that a cashier’s check is a negotiable instrument and that API took it subject to Premier’s defense of bad faith and (2) the trial court’s failure to rule that API was entitled to judgment on the check with interest and costs. Premier answered the appeal and as plaintiff in reconvention and third party plaintiff also appeals alleging as error: (1) the trial court’s failure to find that defendant in reconvention and third party defendants were liable for the tortious conversion of funds; (2) the trial court’s failure to allow Premier as third party plaintiff to pierce the corporate veil of Atlantic Pacific to hold the Benoits personally liable for the cashier’s check issued to Barry Benoit; (3) the trial court’s failure to determine that Premier was a creditor of Atlantic Pacific and consequently the sale of assets and liabilities from Atlantic Pacific to API was covered by the Bulk Sales Act; and (4) the trial court erred in assessing one-half of costs to Premier.

CASHIER’S CHECKS

In the first assignment of error API contends that a cashier’s check is considered to be the equivalent of cash, rather than a negotiable instrument subject to the Commercial Paper Law (La.R.S. 10:3-101— 3-807). Since it is not subject to the Commercial Paper Law, the issuing bank cannot assert defenses to payment on the check when presented. API cites First Financial L.S.L.A. v. First American Bank, 489 So.2d 388 (La.App. 5th Cir.1986), writ denied, 492 So.2d 1217 (La.1986) in support of this proposition.

In First Financial L.S.L.A. v. First American Bank and Trust Co., 489 So.2d 388 (La.App. 5th Cir.), writ denied, 492 So.2d 1217 (La.1986), the Fifth Circuit held that for policy reasons a cashier’s check is the equivalent of cash or a substitute for cash and citing La.R.S. 10:4-303(l)(a), refused to allow the issuing bank to stop payment on its cashier's check for failure of consideration (which is a defense assert-able pursuant to La.R.S. 10:3-306 against a holder who does not have the status of a holder in due course). The First Financial court imposed an absolute obligation on the issuing bank, prohibiting the bank from asserting any defenses against either a holder or holder in due course (La.R.S. 10:3-301-307). The policy reason underlying the Fifth Circuit’s decision is that:

[a] cashier’s check circulates in the commercial world as the equivalent of cash ... People accept a cashier’s check as a substitute for cash because the bank stands behind it, rather than an individual. In effect the bank becomes a guarantor of the value of the check, and pledges its resources to the payment of the amount represented upon presentation. To allow the bank to stop payment on such an instrument would be inconsistent with the representation it makes in issuing the check. Such a rule would undermine the public confidence in the bank and its checks and thereby deprive the [663]*663cashier’s check of the essential incident which makes it useful. People would no longer be willing to accept it as a substitute for cash if they could not be sure that there would be no difficulty in converting it into cash ... Id. 268 A.2d at 329.

First Financial L.S.L.A. v. First American Bank and Trust Co., 489 So.2d at 391 (quoting National Newark & Essex Bank v. Giordano, 111 N.J.Super. 347, 268 A.2d 327, 329 (1970).

La.R.S. 10:3-104 sets out the form required for a writing to be considered a negotiable instrument under the Commercial Paper Law. It provides:

(1) Any writing to be a negotiable instrument within this Chapter must
(a) be signed by the maker or drawer; and
(b) contain an unconditional promise or order to pay a sum certain in money and no other promise, order, obligation or power given by the maker or drawer except as authorized by this Chapter; and
(c) be payment on demand or at a definite time; and
(d) be payable to order or to bearer.
(2) A writing which complies with the requirements of this Section is
(a) a “draft” (“bill of exchange”) if it is an order;
(b) a “check” if it is a draft drawn on a bank and payable on demand;
(c) a “certificate of deposit” if it is an acknowledgment by a bank of receipt of money with an engagement to repay it;

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Related

Stringfellow v. First American National Bank
878 S.W.2d 940 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1994)
API Supply Co. v. Premier Bank
594 So. 2d 896 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
593 So. 2d 660, 17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1185, 1991 La. App. LEXIS 3686, 1991 WL 317074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/api-supply-co-v-premier-bank-lactapp-1991.