Category: Banking COI

Case of interest where the Texas Supreme Court discusses when a parent corporation could potentially be responsible for a subsidiary’s torts

In re First Reserve Management, No.22-0227, 2023 WL 414054 (Tex. June 23, 2023), the Texas Supreme Court discusses when a parent corporation’s actions cross the line of “control” of the subsidiary, making the parent potentially liable for the subsidiary’s torts.  This case resulted from a series of explosions at the TPC petrochemical processing plant. The […]

Written by on August 28, 2023

Case of Interest where the Texas Supreme Court held that a foreclosure was time barred and an equitable subrogation claim was not allowed

In PNC Mortgage v. Howard, No. 21-0941, 2023 WL 3398580 (Tex. May 12, 2023), the Supreme Court of Texas held that PNC’s foreclosure action was time-barred and in the “mortgage-lending context, what subrogation gives a refinance lender is merely a back-up lien.”  In 2003, the Howards took out two mortgages with First Financial Corporation.  In […]

Written by on June 15, 2023

Case of Interest where U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a purported unknowing bankruptcy debtor can be held liable for her husband’s fraud

In Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. —–, 143 S.Ct. 665 (2023), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a home buyer who was attempting to regain losses from sellers due to fraud for the purchase of a house at an inflated price and with concealed defects and permitting issues.  The core issue addressed by the […]

Written by on May 12, 2023

Case of interest where 5th Circuit finds insurance coverage exists for a loss caused by wire transfer fraud

In Valero Title v. RLI Ins. Co., No. 22-20155, 2023 WL 1434270, (5th Cir. Feb. 1, 2023), the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s ruling that Valero’s proof of loss claim for a fraudulent funds transfer was covered by the crime protection policy under the funds transfer fraud endorsement. Valero purchased a crime-protection policy from RLI […]

Written by on March 21, 2023

Case of interest where Federal District Court ruled that financial institution does not have to reimburse a customer after they were tricked into doing Zelle transfers

It’s a tale as old as time – Plaintiff receives a voicemail from someone purporting to be an agent of her utility company requesting payment through Zelle for an overdue bill.  After being misled by the scammers, Plaintiff authorizes Zelle to transfer funds. The scammers trick her to send additional Zelle transfers.  The next day, Plaintiff […]

Written by on February 24, 2023

Case of interest where Second Circuit ruled that the legal inaccuracy alleged by Plaintiff was not cognizable as an “inaccuracy” under the FCRA

In Mader v. Experian Info. Sol.,Inc., Nos. 20-3073, 21-2171, 2023 WL 27654, (2d Cir. January 4, 2023), the plaintiff brought action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) against a credit-reporting agency for reporting his private educational loan, which he believed was discharged in bankruptcy, as “due and owing.”  The bankruptcy court in 2013 stated that “all […]

Written by on February 13, 2023

Case of interest where marketing influencer may be liable for direct trademark infringement and unfair business practices claims

So, you thought being a marketing influencer was an avant-garde and risk-free career until you were sued for direct infringement, contributory infringement, false advertising and unlawful and unfair business practices for helping to promote a product.  Petunia Products, Inc. (PPI), a cosmetics company, owned the BROWBOOST® trademark for an eyebrow product.  Rodan & Fields, LLC (R&F) released […]

Written by on January 7, 2023

Case of interest where the 11th Circuit ruled that a bank agreement cannot reduce the 1-year reporting requirement for unauthorized wire transfers

In this case of interest, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a bank cannot reduce the time requirement for an account holder to notify the bank of fraudulent wire transfers.  The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the bank holding that the bank’s agreement effectively shortened the time-period for an account holder […]

Written by on December 12, 2022

Case of interest where a Texas Court of Appeals ruled the customer waited too long to sue a bank regarding missing proceeds from a CD account

The opinion in Gonzalez v. Vantage Bank Texas, No. 04-21-00285-CV, 2022 WL 14679567 (Tex. App. – San Antonio 2022, no pet. h.), reaffirms the importance of a bank customer’s duty to timely review bank statements for errors or unauthorized transactions.  Gonzalez brought claims against her bank for breach of contract and negligence, alleging that after a CD […]

Written by on November 21, 2022

Recent Case of Interest on $500MM Mistaken Wire Transfer Decision Reversal

In this case of interest, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a prior ruling and ruled that lenders must return $500 million to Citibank, who mistakenly wired transferred funds to the lenders in excess of the presently required loan payments as a result of an error. See Citibank v. Brigade Capital Management, 49 F.4th […]

Written by on October 17, 2022

Recent case of interest related to N.Y. Court affirming Happy the elephant, a nonhuman animal, is not a ‘person’ subjected to unlawful detention

I sometimes want to send blurbs about non-business cases.  This case of interest comes from the N.Y. Court of Appeals where the court dismissed a petition for writ of habeas corpus for Happy, the Thailand-born elephant. In Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v. Breheny, No. 52, 2022 WL 2122141 (N.Y. June 14, 2022), the Nonhuman Rights […]

Written by on July 27, 2022

Case of interest related to the E-Sign Act and clicking an “acknowledgement” button to possibly agree to a contract

This case of interest addresses the use of an e-signature by clicking the “acknowledgment” button on an electronic agreement.  In Apprio, Inc. v. Zaccari, No. 18-2180 JDB, 2022 WL 971001 (U.S. District D.D.C. March 31, 2022), the Court found that the defendant was bound by the Agreement that was electronically acknowledged (i.e., the Proprietary Information […]

Written by on June 20, 2022

Recent cases of interest regarding overdraft fees class actions and two additional dismissals/judgments in favor of banks

I previously sent an email update regarding a dismissal/summary judgment in a matter styled Williams v. Happy State Bank, No. 07-22-00003-CV, 2022 WL 226852, Williams v. Happy State Bank (Tex. App. Jan. 26, 2022, no pet.).  (Tex. Court of Appeals, 7th Dist. 2022).  In that update, I wanted to let various banks and credit unions […]

Written by on June 3, 2022

Recent case of interest I personally argued to the Tex. Sup. Ct. wherein the Court ruled a wire transfer request form did not create a new contract

In Elizondo, an attorney was scammed by a putative client.  See Cadence Bank v. Elizondo, No. 20-0273, 2022 WL 815946 (Tex. Mar. 18, 2022).  The attorney was tricked into negotiating and depositing a fraudulent cashier’s check by an email scam.  More specifically, examination of emails between Elizondo and his “client” showed typical signs of a […]

Written by on April 22, 2022

Recent case of interest where Texas passes a landmark bill (HB 4474) recognizing, defining, and clarifying virtual currency and its control

Texas lawmakers recently passed a landmark bill, HB 4474, also known as the “Virtual Currency Bill,” which recognizes cryptocurrencies and other blockchain currencies in the Texas Business and Commerce Code. The Virtual Currency Bill defines virtual currencies, establishes when a purchaser has control over such currencies, and clarifies how a security interest in a virtual […]

Written by on October 8, 2021

Fifth Circuit rebuffed an individual guarantor’s claims of “fraudulent inducement, duress, unclean hands, and equitable estoppel” against lenders

In 2015, several of Michael Lockwood’s companies took on $90 million in revolving lines of credit from Wells Fargo and Trustmark National Bank. Lockwood Int’l. Inc. v. Wells Fargo, Nat’l Ass’n, 2021 WL 3624748 (5th Cir. Aug. 16, 2021). Within a year, some of the obligations had already been breached. As a result, the parties […]

Written by on September 13, 2021

Seventh Circuit ruled CRAs were responsible for investigating “factually inaccurate information,” but not “legal inaccuracies.”

In these consolidated cases, seven plaintiffs claimed their consumer debts were not owned by the creditors listed on their credit reports and requested that the credit reporting agencies investigate their claims. Credit reporting agencies verified debt ownership with creditors and debtors were informed. Plaintiffs felt the investigations by the credit reporting agencies were inadequate and […]

Written by on August 13, 2021