Marshall v. First Bank & Trust

848 So. 2d 660, 2003 WL 21246496
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 21, 2003
Docket2002-CA-2450
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 848 So. 2d 660 (Marshall v. First Bank & Trust) 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
Marshall v. First Bank & Trust, 848 So. 2d 660, 2003 WL 21246496 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

848 So.2d 660 (2003)

Randall MARSHALL
v.
FIRST BANK & TRUST and First National Bank of Commerce.

No. 2002-CA-2450.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

May 21, 2003.

Robert J. Young, III, Michael G. Morales, Young, Richaud & Myers, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellant.

Gregory J. St. Angelo, August J. LaNasa, Philip J. LaNasa, La Nasa, St. Angelo & La Nasa, L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellee.

Stephen Guy deLaup, S. Guy deLaup, APLC, Metairie, LA, for Defendant/Appellee, Cheryl Jennings.

*661 Court composed of Judge PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge JAMES F. McKAY, III, Judge LEON A. CANNIZZARO, JR.

PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge.

This is a customer's suit against a bank for damages allegedly resulting from the bank's failure to honor the customer's request to stop payment on the bank's cashier's check. The customer appeals the trial court's judgment granting summary judgment in favor of the bank. We affirm.

FACTS

On April 27, 1997, Randall Marshall redeemed various certificates of deposit at First Bank & Trust (FBT), and requested and received a cashier's check for $113,988.28 made payable solely to him. Mr. Marshall placed the check in his home desk drawer. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife, Cheryl Jennings Marshall ("Ms. Jennings"), physically separated and commenced divorce proceedings. On June 25, 1997, Mr. Marshall's housekeeper informed him that Ms. Jennings had taken the cashier's check from his desk drawer and absconded with it.

The following day, Mr. Marshall went to FBT and requested that a "stop payment" order be issued because the cashier's check was missing, lost, or stolen. Following the instructions an FBT employee gave him, Mr. Marshall completed an "Indemnity Agreement for Missing Instrument," had it notarized, and returned it to FBT. According to Mr. Marshall, an FBT employee instructed him to return in ninety days at which time the bank would issue him a replacement check and assured him that the original cashier's check would be flagged and that it would not be paid or clear the bank.[1]

On July 5, 1997, Ms. Jennings endorsed the cashier's check for deposit into a joint checking account that she maintained with Mr. Marshall at First National Bank of Commerce ("FNBC"). Although Ms. Jennings endorsed only her name to the check, which was payable to Mr. Marshall, FNBC supplied Mr. Marshall's missing endorsement.[2] On July 7, 1997, FBT accepted the cashier's check from FNBC and credited FNBC's account for the amount of the cashier's check, $113,988.28. On that same date, Ms. Jennings withdrew $57,000 from the FNBC joint account. On September 18, 1997, she withdrew the remaining money in that account, which totaled $57,059.28. Mr. Marshall claims these actions were done without his knowledge and that during that time period the FNBC joint account statements were being mailed to a closed post office box.

Meanwhile, on October 7, 1997, Mr. Marshall returned to FBT to obtain a replacement check since the ninety-day waiting period had elapsed. Although FBT issued a replacement cashier's check, on October 9, 1997, FBT verbally informed Mr. Marshall that the replacement check could not be converted, endorsed, or otherwise cashed because FBT had placed a stop payment order. On October 10, 1997, FBT returned the original cashier's check *662 to FNBC by correspondence stating it was "lacking proper endorsement" and that its customer claimed he did not deposit this item. On October 21, 1997, FNBC responded that the account in which the cashier's check was deposited was a joint account entitled Randall L. Marshall "or" Cheryl J. Marshall and that the check was endorsed by Cheryl Marshall and deposited into that account. The instant lawsuit followed.

In this suit, Mr. Marshall asserts essentially two claims against FBT: a Uniform Commercial Code claim for failure to honor his request to stop payment on the cashier's check and a detrimental reliance claim under La. C.C. art.1967. Granting FBT's motion for summary judgment, the trial court found that FBT was contractually obligated to pay the cashier's check presented by FNBC despite Mr. Marshall's claim that the check was lost or stolen, reasoning:

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, FBT was justified in not stopping payment on the cashier's check despite Mr. Marshall's request because he breached the Indemnity Agreement by indorsing the cashier's check. Mr. Marshall had signed a depositor's agreement with FNBC appointing FNBC a mandatory of Mr. Marshall such that it could supply his missing indorsement on any item deposited into his joint checking account, provided that the item was made payable to either of the two joint account holders. This court previously upheld the language of that depositor's agreement and granted summary judgment to FNBC on that basis. Thus, the court finds that since Mr. Marshall's signature was supplied via a lawfully executed Power of Attorney, or contract of mandate, Mr. Marshall has no claim, under law, against FBT.

The trial court likewise rejected Mr. Marshall's detrimental reliance claim, reasoning:

Absent from the plaintiff's claims is the "detriment" component. As part of the community property settlement with his ex-wife, Cheryl Jennings Marshall, the plaintiff received full benefit of the proceeds of the cashier's check and used said proceeds as valuable consideration in the settlement of Cheryl Jennings Marshall's community property claim. Accordingly, this court is of the opinion that Mr. Marshall did not lose the value of the cashier's check because that was the value he received in his divorce settlement in which he allowed his ex-wife to keep "all movables currently in her possession." Furthermore, if plaintiff were to receive an additional payment from FBT, he would be unjustly enriched, in contravention to La. C.C. art. 2298. Thus, the court finds that Mr. Marshall did not suffer any detriment. He has already [been] paid the money the money he now seeks from FBT.[3]
This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, the standard of review of a trial court's decision granting summary judgment is de novo. Shelton v. Standard/700 Associates, XXXX-XXXX, p. 5 (La.10/16/01), 798 So.2d 60, 64-65; Doerr v. Mobil Oil Corp., XXXX-XXXX, p. 27 (La.12/19/00), 774 So.2d 119, 136; Smith v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 93-2512, p. 26 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 730, 750. We ask the same questions as the trial court asked; namely: whether there is any genuine *663 issue of material fact, and whether the mover-appellee is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In answering these questions, we are guided by the Legislature's admonition that "[t]he summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action" and that "[t]he procedure is favored and shall be construed to accomplish these ends." La. C. Civ. Pro. art. 966(A)(2).

Based on our de novo review of the record, we find the trial court correctly concluded that FBT was entitled to summary judgment and thus affirm the trial court. In so doing, we separately address each of Mr. Marshall's two claims.

UCC CLAIM

The applicable Louisiana UCC provision that governs lost, destroyed, or stolen cashier's checks is La. R.S. 10:3-312, which provides:[4]

A claimant [i.e.,

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Bluebook (online)
848 So. 2d 660, 2003 WL 21246496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marshall-v-first-bank-trust-lactapp-2003.