DEAN CLASSIC CARS v. Fidelity Bank

978 So. 2d 393
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 2007
Docket2007 CA 0935
StatusPublished

This text of 978 So. 2d 393 (DEAN CLASSIC CARS v. Fidelity 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
DEAN CLASSIC CARS v. Fidelity Bank, 978 So. 2d 393 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

978 So.2d 393 (2007)

DEAN CLASSIC CARS, L.L.C. and Bob G. Dean, Jr.
v.
FIDELITY BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, State of Louisiana Through the Department of Public Safety, Office of Motor Vehicles, and James E. Jordan, Jr.

No. 2007 CA 0935.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 21, 2007.

*394 William D. Treeby, Samantha P. Griffin, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiffs-Appellees, Dean Classic Cars, L.L.C. and Bob G. Dean, Jr.

James P. Doré, Amy D. Borret, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Fidelity Bank and Trust Company.

Mark L. Ross, Lafayette, LA, for Intervenor-Appellant, Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.

James E. Jordan, Jr., Baton Rouge, LA, Defendant In Proper Person.

*395 Before CARTER, C.J., PETTIGREW, and WELCH, JJ.

CARTER, C.J.

Plaintiffs, Bob G. Dean, Jr. and Dean Classic Cars, L.L.C., sought to recover losses sustained as a result of a former employee's fraudulent action of stealing multiple checks, forging plaintiffs' indorsements, and presenting the forged instruments for deposit into the employee's personal bank account. In the proceedings below, the trial court found in favor of plaintiffs, holding that the bank's action of depositing the forged checks constituted conversion. The bank and its insurer appeal, primarily arguing that the trial court erred in failing to find that plaintiffs bore responsibility for the losses because of their lack of sufficient internal auditing controls. Finding no error, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Bob Dean Enterprises, Inc. ("BDE") provides management services to various companies owned by Bob G. Dean, Jr. ("Dean"), including Dean Classic Cars, L.L.C. ("DCC"), a licensed Louisiana automobile dealer that was organized to buy, sell, and hold title to company vehicles used by Dean's various company's employees and Dean's antique and exotic vehicle collection. The vehicle collection ordinarily consisted of 50 to 100 vehicles, and was housed at both a warehouse owned by Dean and at Dean's personal residence. DCC did not have any employees, but Dean instructed and supervised various BDE employees regarding DCC work and activities.

In 1997, Dean hired James E. Jordan, Jr. ("Jordan"), a former Louisiana state trooper, as an employee of BDE. Initially, Jordan handled workers' compensation matters for Dean's various companies. Eventually, Jordan's duties expanded to include responsibility for handling bills of sale and titles to the vehicles owned by DCC, as well as becoming a licensed salesman to assist Dean in the buying and selling of the vehicles for Dean's private collection.

Unbeknownst to Dean and BDE employees, Jordan had a serious gambling addiction. In 2002, Jordan began to use fraudulently prepared financial statements, documents, and titles for the DCC vehicles to secure personal loans from Fidelity Bank and Trust Company ("Fidelity") and several other banks in order to cover his gambling debts. In late 2002 and throughout 2003, Jordan also devised a scheme to intercept checks made payable to DCC and/or Dean, including three checks that Jordan deposited into his personal checking account at Fidelity.[1] In each instance, Jordan stole the checks, forged the respective signatures for DCC and/or Dean, personally indorsed the checks, and then deposited the funds into his checking account at Fidelity. Neither Dean nor any of his companies had bank accounts at Fidelity. Despite bank policies to the contrary, Fidelity permitted Jordan to deposit the checks made payable to DCC and/or Dean into his personal checking account without manager or officer approval, and without verifying the validity of the indorsements *396 appearing on the checks or Jordan's authority to deposit the third party checks.

One of the checks deposited by Jordan represented proceeds for a loan obtained by Dean and DCC in December 2003 after the purchase of several vehicles. Jordan somehow confiscated the $278,000.00 check and deposited it in his Fidelity checking account before Dean was even aware that the loan had been successfully processed and funded. When Dean questioned Jordan regarding the whereabouts of the loan proceeds, Jordan concocted a story about title problems on the vehicles used to secure the loan.[2] Jordan maintained the title problem story line each time he was questioned until March 2004. At that time, Dean pressed Jordan for receipt of the loan proceeds or a speedy resolution to the title problems within twenty-four hours. The pressure from Dean resulted in Jordan confessing to Dean that he had stolen the loan check along with several other checks, and that he had previously used some titles to DCC vehicles in order to secure numerous loans to cover his gambling debt. After the confession, Jordan ultimately pled guilty to an elaborate embezzlement scheme and was sentenced to serve time in a federal penitentiary.

Plaintiffs, DCC and Dean, filed suit against Fidelity on April 7, 2004, alleging that Fidelity's action of depositing the third-party checks without verifying the indorsements or authority for the deposit of corporate checks into a personal account, constituted unlawful and negligent conversion of the funds pursuant to LSA-R.S. 10:3-420, and therefore, plaintiffs were entitled to an award of damages, legal interest, and costs relative to Fidelity's handling of the forged corporate checks.[3] Fidelity answered, denying all allegations of negligence and asserting that plaintiffs were responsible for the loss because Jordan was a "responsible employee" within the meaning of LSA-R.S. 10:3-405. Fidelity also alleged that plaintiffs had insufficient internal auditing controls that allowed Jordan to engage in the embezzlement scheme. Finally, Fidelity's insurer, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies ("Chubb"), intervened in the lawsuit to recoup funds that it had paid to Fidelity for payment on the three fraudulently indorsed checks.

During trial on January 23-24, 2007, Dean and several accounting employees of BDE testified that Jordan: (1) did not have check-signing authority for Dean or DCC, (2) did not have authority to prepare deposit slips, (3) did not have authority to make deposits of corporate checks into his personal checking account, (4) did not have authority to indorse corporate checks made payable to Dean or DCC, and (5) was not a signatory on any of Dean's accounts, including DCC. Jordan acknowledged all of these facts, emphasizing that he did not have any accounting or bookkeeping duties, and he had no check writing authority for Dean or any of Dean's businesses.[4] It was established that Jordan's *397 role in bank deposits for plaintiffs was to simply transport the deposits to the bank and return with the deposit slips for BDE accounting staff. There was also testimony that Jordan never had primary responsibility for the initial receipt of the mail for BDE; instead, different designated BDE employees at different times would handle the mail. However, Jordan testified that he occasionally would have DCC mail distributed directly to him and he would open it. Testimony from the loan officer at Fidelity revealed no one at Fidelity took any steps to verify Jordan's authority to indorse checks for Dean or DCC on any of the three checks involved. Further, no one at Fidelity verified that Dean's indorsement was authentic.

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978 So. 2d 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dean-classic-cars-v-fidelity-bank-lactapp-2007.