PNC Bank, N.A. v. Sullivan

84 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38069, 2015 WL 1427511
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 26, 2015
DocketNO. 13-3410
StatusPublished

This text of 84 F. Supp. 3d 871 (PNC Bank, N.A. v. Sullivan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PNC Bank, N.A. v. Sullivan, 84 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38069, 2015 WL 1427511 (C.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

RICHARD MILLS, U.S. District Judge:

This is an action for declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201, wherein the Plaintiff seeks entry of a declaration that Defendant’s claim is not arbitrable.

Pending is the Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment.

In short, there is nothing to arbitrate.

Judgment for Plaintiff.

This case is closed.

[873]*873I. BACKGROUND

On November 13, 2013, Defendant Brian Sullivan filed with the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) a Demand for Arbitration, requesting an in-person arbitration of the Defendant’s claim for violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (“the Act) against Plaintiff PNC Bank, N.A.

On October 4, 2013, the Plaintiff mailed the Defendant a notice stating that “your deposit account referenced above (xxx895) has been overdrawn for 15 days and is currently reflecting a negative balance of $10.00 ... We request that you immediately make a deposit to return your account to a positive balance ... Please be advised that a continued failure to pay may result in additional fees, Account closure and the overdraft amount being reported as a delinquency to Chex Systems.”

On October 15, 2013, the Defendant visited the Plaintiff’s branch located at One Old Capitol Plaza North, Springfield, IL and made a deposit of $20 into account xxxx895.

In his Demand for Arbitration, the Defendant claimed that Plaintiff violated the Act by telling him he was a PNC customer, when he was not, in order to obtain $20 from him. The Demand seeks the return of the $20, plus $900 that Defendant says he lost in the form of his “billable hours” at his job; $100,000 in punitive damages; and $15,050 in “current” legal fees.

Although he contends that he never entered into any agreement with the Defendant, and is not a PNC Bank customer, the Defendant nevertheless asserts in his Demand for Arbitration that PNC is required to attend arbitration pursuant to the language of a document entitled “Account Agreement for Personal Checking, Savings and Money market Accounts,” which the Defendant apparently believes the Plaintiff has entered into with other unidentified, non-party individuals.

Although he contends that he never entered into this or any other agreement with the Plaintiff and is not its customer, the Defendant also asserts in his Demand for Arbitration that PNC Bank must pay his attorney’s fees pursuant to the language of the “Account Agreement for Personal Checking, Savings and Money Market Accounts.”

On December 12, 2013, the Plaintiff filed this action, seeking entry of a declaration pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, that Defendant’s claim made in the Demand for Arbitration is not arbitrable. On December 17, 2013, the Defendant’s counsel sent a letter to the AAA requesting that the AAA move forward with the demand for arbitration. In response, the AAA noted that it would proceed with arbitration on December 23, 2013.

On December 18, 2013, the Plaintiff filed an emergency motion for an Order staying the Arbitration. The same day, this Court granted the Plaintiffs emergency motion and entered an Order staying the arbitration pending the resolution of this action.

The Plaintiff filed its First Set of Discovery Requests to Defendant on April 16, 2014, which included Requests for Admissions. The Defendant served his Responses to the Plaintiffs Discovery Requests on April 25, 2014. In relevant part, the Defendant stated as follows:

I did not enter into any agreement with PNC in connection with PNC account no. [xx-xxxx]-0895
I did not open PNC account no. [xx-xxxx]-0895
To the best of my memory, I have never opened any account with PNC.
I am not a PNC customer.

Therefore, the parties agree that Defendant has not entered into any agreement [874]*874with Plaintiff PNC, has never opened a PNC account and is not a PNC customer.

The Plaintiff claims it is entitled to summary judgment and the Court should enter an Order declaring the parties are not required to proceed to arbitration. The Defendant alleges the Plaintiff should be estopped from claiming there is no agreement to arbitrate and, moreover, his claims fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Legal standard

Summary judgment is appropriate if the motion is properly supported and “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The Declaratory Judgment Act provides in part:

[A]ny court of the United States, upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought. Any such declaration shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree and shall be reviewable as such.

28 U.S.C. § 2201(a); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 57 (“These rules govern the procedure for obtaining a declaratory judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 2201”).

B. Analysis

Arbitration agreements are enforced to the same extent as other contracts and must therefore be construed according to their terms. See Hasbro, Inc. v. Catalyst USA Inc., 367 F.3d 689, 692 (7th Cir.2004). A party seeking to compel arbitration must show: “(1) an agreement to arbitrate, (2) a dispute within the scope of the arbitration agreement, and (3) a refusal by the opposing party to proceed to arbitration.” Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Watts Indus., Inc., 466 F.3d 577, 580 (7th Cir.2006).

The parties agree that Defendant Brian Sullivan was not a customer of Plaintiff PNC Bank. Accordingly, the Plaintiff contends it is entitled to a declaration that the claim asserted in the Defendant’s Demand for Arbitration is not “arbitrable” because the Defendant cannot meet its burden of establishing the existence of an agreement to arbitrate.

The Defendant asserts the Plaintiff is equitably estopped from claiming there was no agreement to arbitrate. Because the Defendant requested and accepted $20.00 from the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff contends the Defendant cannot now deny the existence of an Agreement in order to circumvent the arbitration requirement.

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Bluebook (online)
84 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38069, 2015 WL 1427511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pnc-bank-na-v-sullivan-ilcd-2015.