Binns v. BB & T Bank

377 F. Supp. 3d 487
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 6, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. 18-1166
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 377 F. Supp. 3d 487 (Binns v. BB & T Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Binns v. BB & T Bank, 377 F. Supp. 3d 487 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

Opinion

Gerald Austin McHugh, United States District Judge

Plaintiff James J. Binns, Esq., as sole shareholder of James J. Binns, P.C., brought this action against Defendant BB & T Bank under § 3406 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) for the recovery of unauthorized electronic transactions withdrawn from his account. BB & T has moved for Summary Judgment on Mr. Binns's claim, relying on defenses provided by the UCC as well as those found in the Banking Agreements that governed the use of the account. There is a surprising lack of precedent as to what law applies to transactions of this kind. I conclude that the UCC provisions cited by the Plaintiff are inapplicable to the electronic transactions at issue, which are instead controlled by the Banking Agreements. Under those Agreements, Mr. Binns was obligated to review his statements and notify BB & T of any questionable transactions. Because he did not provide such notice and does not dispute that all of the transactions at issue were accurately set forth in statements that he admits receiving, BB & T is entitled to summary judgment.

I. FACTUAL RECORD

This action concerns 267 unauthorized transactions from Mr. Binns's account that occurred between January 2013 and March 2017.1 The account in question was a "Business Checking" account Mr. Binns opened with National Penn Bank, entitled "James J Binns P.C. Operating Account" and ending in the digits -6872. See Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. D, ECF No. 38-7. While the account was held by National Penn, it was subject to an account holder agreement referred to as a "Personal and Business Deposit and Electronic Banking Services Agreement and Disclosure." Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. A, ECF No. 38-4 [hereinafter National Penn Agreement]. On April 1, 2016, BB & T acquired National Penn and on July 18, 2016, converted Mr. Binns's account into a BB & T "Business Value" account with a new account number ending in -1199. See Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. D. After the conversion, the *490account was then subject to a BB & T "Commercial Bank Services Agreement." Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. B, ECF No. 38-5 [hereinafter BB & T Agreement].

Mr. Binns used the account primarily for his Professional Corporation: "[i]t's the business account. That's where the money I receive gets deposited into and out of which I write checks." Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. G 22:12-16, ECF No. 38-10 [hereinafter Binns Dep.]. Mr. Binns also used the account for personal expenses "[p]erhaps on occasion." Binns Dep. 22:17-19. National Penn, and later BB & T, sent Mr. Binns monthly statements containing the transactions made on the account, which he himself would open and review upon receipt, usually looking at each charge. Mr. Binns has admitted, however, that he did not, nor did any of his employees, ever reconcile the statements with his checkbook.

The transactions in question were made by Mr. Binns's daughter, Amy Ives Binns, between January 2013 and March 2017, when Mr. Binns finally closed the account. The transactions were electronic "ACH" transactions, made without the need of a signature, using Mr. Binns's account and routing numbers. Mr. Binns noticed the first unauthorized transaction, made on January 11, 2013, when it appeared in his January 31, 2013 statement without an accompanying check number.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Binns placed a call to BB & T employee Shaquana Moss, his regular contact at the bank, to ask why there were withdrawals on his statement without check numbers. Ms. Moss explained that the check number no longer appears on a statement when a written check is converted into an electronic withdrawal. Mr. Binns then asked whether there was anything unusual about these transactions, and Ms. Moss assured him that they were normal and happened often. Mr. Binns did not believe he had performed those electronic transactions. Significantly, however, when asked at his deposition whether he told Ms. Moss about this suspicion during the phone call, he responded, "[n]o. I didn't tell her that." Binns Dep. 33:3-5.

Mr. Binns made an additional phone call to Ms. Moss in "winter 2017" where he questioned a transaction made to a utility company. Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. I 82:22-24 [hereinafter Moss Dep.]. In response, Ms. Moss asked whether he had a bill from the company, but Mr. Binns did not know and did not press the issue further, then or in any subsequent call.

Sometime during the winter of 2017, Mr. Binns had a conversation with another BB & T employee, Latifah Brooker, who informed him that his daughter had been making in-person withdrawals from his account. Mr. Binns testified "[t]hat is when I started to go over the accounts with Ms. Moss and say, [y]ou've got to undo this money that she's drawing out." Binns Dep. 34:24-35:2. Ms. Moss informed Mr. Binns he needed to complete an affidavit to identify any unauthorized transactions. Mr. Binns subsequently completed affidavits on February 10, 2017, February 15, 2017, and April 12, 2017, which identified 24 unauthorized transactions dating back to October 3, 2016. In response, BB & T reimbursed 23 out of the 24 transactions identified in the affidavits. In his deposition, Mr. Binns admitted that the affidavits represented the first time he had expressed to Ms. Moss his belief that there were unauthorized transactions made from the account. Mr. Binns then initiated the present action in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on September 12, 2017 in attempt to recover additional unauthorized transactions. On August 5, 2018, during discovery, Mr. Binns identified the 243 additional transactions that add up to the 267 unauthorized *491transactions that form the basis of his claim.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

This motion is governed by the well-established standards of Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, as amplified by Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322 n.3, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). An issue is "genuine" only if there is a sufficient evidentiary basis on which a reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party and a factual dispute is "material" only if it might affect the outcome under governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

III. DISCUSSION

A threshold issue in determining this Motion is what law applies to electronic ACH transactions made from a business bank account.

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377 F. Supp. 3d 487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/binns-v-bb-t-bank-paed-2019.