Villarreal v. First Presidio Bank

283 F. Supp. 3d 548
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJuly 14, 2017
DocketEP–15–CV–88–KC
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 283 F. Supp. 3d 548 (Villarreal v. First Presidio Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Villarreal v. First Presidio Bank, 283 F. Supp. 3d 548 (W.D. Tex. 2017).

Opinion

KATHLEEN CARDONE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this day, the Court considered Defendants' First Presidio Bank, and its Successor-in-Interest, Big Bends Banks National Association, D/B/A The Marfa National Bank ("Defendants" or "the Bank") Motion for Judgment Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c) ("Motion"), ECF No. 86, made orally following the close of Plaintiff Roberto Villarreal's case in chief at trial on June 13, 2017, and filed on the Court's electronic docket shortly thereafter, in the above-referenced case. After due consideration, the Motion is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The Motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's wrongful-dishonor claim and DENIED as to Plaintiff's unjust-enrichment claim.

I. BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are undisputed. Plaintiff is a Mexican national residing in Chihuahua, Mexico. Plaintiff married Amida Anna Loya Galindo *550in 2004 and remains married to her. Plaintiff was previously married to Irene Amparan de Villarreal, who died in April of 2000. First Presidio Bank opened for business in 1975 in Presidio, Texas. Big Bend Banks, N.A., merged with First Presidio Bank on or about January of 2008.

Plaintiff held a checking account and several certificates of deposit with Defendants. The instant case concerns a dispute over five certificates of deposit that First Presidio Bank issued to Plaintiff between April of 1983 and June of 1984. Each of these certificates of deposit were payable to Plaintiff or Irene Amparan de Villarreal, contained language restricting their transferability and assignability, and automatically renewed upon maturity at prevailing market interest rates. Either Plaintiff or Irene Amparan de Villarreal could have redeemed the certificates of deposit without the signature of the other by presenting the original, physical certificate of deposit to the Bank.

Plaintiff placed the physical certificates of deposit in a safe deposit box that he rented at First Presidio Bank when they were first issued. Plaintiff's checking account with the Bank was closed in 2008 with a negative balance. In May of 2014, Plaintiff retrieved the physical certificates of deposit from the safe deposit box. Plaintiff subsequently requested that the Bank redeem the certificates of deposit. The Bank concluded that Plaintiff had already redeemed the certificates of deposit in question and refused. The Bank has no records concerning the certificates of deposit in question other than two microfilm rolls of quarterly records from the mid-1980s.

On March 24, 2015, Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit. See Pl.'s Compl., ECF No. 1. On March 16, 2017, Plaintiff filed his Second Amended Complaint, now the operative complaint in this matter, asserting two causes of action against the Bank: (1) wrongful dishonor under Section 4.402 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code ; and (2) unjust enrichment. See Pl.'s Second Am. Compl., ECF No. ECF No. 60. This Court conducted a bench trial of this matter on June 12, 2017 and June 13, 2017. Defendants moved for judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c) on June 13, 2017. See Defs.' Mot. Plaintiff responded on June 19, 2017. See Pl.'s Resp., ECF No. 93.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard

In a bench trial, once "a party has been fully heard on an issue ... the court may enter judgment as a matter of law against that party with respect to a claim or defense that cannot under the controlling law be maintained or defeated without a favorable finding on that issue." Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c). When dismissing a case pursuant to Rule 52(c), a court is not required to make any special inferences or review the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." See Koenig v. Aetna Life Ins. Co. , No. 4:13-CV-0359, 2015 WL 6554347, at *4 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 29, 2015) (citing Weber v. Gainey's Concrete Prods., Inc. , No. 9731267, 1998 WL 699047, at *1 n. 1 (5th Cir. Sept. 21, 1998) ). A court entering judgment pursuant to Rule 52(c)"must find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately" as described in Rule 52(a). Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co. v. Humble Surgical Hosp., LLC , No. 4:13-CV-3291, 2016 WL 3077405, at *6 (S.D. Tex. June 1, 2016) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(1) ).1

*551B. Analysis

Defendants assert that Plaintiff's claim for wrongful dishonor fails on five grounds and that Plaintiff's claim for unjust enrichment fails on three grounds. See Defs.' Mot. 2-14. Additionally, Defendants contend that the presumption-of-payment doctrine, the relevant statutes of limitation, and laches bar Plaintiff's claims. See id. at 14-19. The Court addresses these arguments in turn.

1. Plaintiff's claim for wrongful dishonor fails

Defendants argue that "Plaintiff has no claim for wrongful dishonor since Plaintiff is unable to demonstrate the Defendants are a 'payor bank.' " Defs.' Mot. 3. Plaintiff does not directly respond to this contention. See Pl.'s Resp. 2-3. Plaintiff maintains that "[t]he express language of Section 4.402 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code states that a payor bank is liable to its customer for the wrongful dishonor of an item that is properly payable." Id. at 3.

The merits of a wrongful dishonor claim are governed by Section 4.402 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, which provides that "[a] payor bank wrongfully dishonors an item if it dishonors an item that is properly payable, but ... may dishonor an item that would create an overdraft unless it has agreed to pay the overdraft." Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 4.402(a) (emphasis added). Further, "[a] payor bank is liable to its customer for damages proximately caused by the wrongful dishonor of an item." Id. § 4.402(b) (emphasis added). A " 'payor bank ' means the bank that is the drawee of a draft. " Id. § 4.105(3) (emphasis added). A " 'draft ' means ... an item, other than an instrument, that is an order. "

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283 F. Supp. 3d 548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/villarreal-v-first-presidio-bank-txwd-2017.