Check the record …
July 9, 2023Eagle Remodel sued Capital One for honoring several forged checks drawn on its account. The bank sought refuge in the “same wrongdoer rule,” a UCC provision based on the obligation of the bank customer to diligently review statements, and that places the burden on the bank to establish the elements of that defense.
Unfortunately for the bank, while “[t]he record contains evidence that Ruiz [Eagle’s former employee] stole the checks … the record does not show who signed or altered the checks, and it also does not establish the checks were signed or altered by the same wrongdoer.”
Put another way: “The record contains no evidence demonstrating who signed or altered the checks the evidence shows who Eagle Remodel believes stole the checks.” Eagle Remodel LLC v. Capital One Fin. Corp., No. 05-22-00206-CV (July 6, 2023) (mem. op.) (emphasis added).
