Opinion ID: 1103241
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: whether wise has met the threshold showing of egregious conduct necessary to submit the issue of punitive damages to a jury.

Text: ¶ 12. If Wise is entitled to pursue a punitive damage claim in the present case, it must be based on evidence of both a breach of the deposit contract and a showing that breach was so egregious as to amount to an independent tort. Punitive damages are permissible for wrongs that import insult, fraud or oppression and not merely injuries but injuries inflicted in the spirit of wanton disregard for the rights of others. First Nat'l Bank v. Langley, 314 So.2d 324, 339 (Miss.1975) (citation omitted). In order to warrant the recovery of punitive damages, there must enter into the injury some element of aggression or some coloring of insult, malice, or gross negligence, evincing ruthless disregard for the rights of others. Id. The trial court concluded the evidence would not support a punitive damage claim, and we agree. ¶ 13. There is no dispute the bank violated the terms of its debtor/creditor contract with Wise when it paid $1,500 based on a forged withdrawal slip. There is also no question that a bank teller forged the withdrawal slip and claimed during an interview by the bank manager that she recalled Wise making the withdrawal. The Court of Appeals make much ado about allegations of a supposed video. Wise claimed she learned of the video from the bank manager; however, the manager denied advising Wise of any video's existence. In fact, there was no video. ¶ 14. The bank conducted a thorough investigation including the comparison of the signatures with Wise's signature card on file at the bank's operation center in Greenwood. Wise's own deposition indicates that bank officials, Wise, and Wise's daughter all agreed after the comparison that the signature appeared to be Wise's. Wise continued however to maintain she had not withdrawn the money from her account. The bank continued to investigate by interviewing all tellers including the one who forged the withdrawal slip. It conducted a joint meeting at corporate headquarters in Greenwood and attempted to ascertain whether the bank had a copy of a videotape of the supposed transaction which occurred at the Shelby branch. The bank also conducted a six-month review of the bank statements of all personnel that had worked at the bank on the day of the incident. Nothing was uncovered by the bank which would have led the bank to conclude that Wise's signature was forged. The bank had given the original withdrawal slip back to Wise in her December 24, 1996, bank statement from which Wise's signature had been traced and which was ultimately used by her expert to finally discover the forgery. It is equally clear that the forgery was so good that neither Wise's attorney nor bank officials could determine the withdrawal document was a forgery. In fact, it ultimately took a handwriting expert to make that determination. Rather than advise the bank immediately that the document was indeed a forgery, Wise's attorney waited some two months and then filed suit. This was the bank's first knowledge that the withdrawal slip was in fact a forgery. The sole obligation of the bank, absent bad faith in its handling of the matter, was to make restitution. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-4-103 (Rev. 2002). Restitution was immediately made by the bank upon learning of the forgery. The bank did all that it could do to ascertain what actually occurred concerning this incident. There was no bad faith by the bank. Thus, this is not a punitive damages case. ¶ 15. Absent behavior described above which supports punitive damages, no such claim could be made. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-65(1)(a) (Rev.2002) will only allow for punitive damages where a plaintiff shows by clear and convincing evidence actual malice, gross negligence evidencing a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others, or the commission of actual fraud. In order for punitive damages to be awarded, the plaintiff must demonstrate a wilful or malicious wrong, or the gross, reckless disregard for the rights of others. Punitive damages are only appropriate in the most egregious cases.... Paracelsus Health Care Corp. v. Willard, 754 So.2d 437, 442 (Miss.1999) (citations omitted). The totality of the circumstances and the aggregate conduct of the defendant must be examined before punitive damages are appropriate. Id. See also Summers ex rel. Dawson v. St. Andrew's Episcopal Sch., Inc., 759 So.2d 1203, 1215 (Miss.2000); Ross-King-Walker, Inc. v. Henson, 672 So.2d 1188, 1191 (Miss.1996). The act complained of here was committed solely by a single bank teller. The bank's investigation of the matter was certainly complete, thorough and proper. There is also the requirement that there must be ruthless disregard for the rights of others in order to remove the case from the ordinary rule. Fowler Butane Gas Co. v. Varner, 244 Miss. 130, 141 So.2d 226, 233 (1962). See also Fedders Corp. v. Boatright, 493 So.2d 301, 311 (Miss.1986). Considering the totality of the circumstances, the bank's conduct indicates a thorough attempt to satisfactorily resolve the matter. This Court has only allowed punitive damages where the facts are highly unusual and the cases extreme. South Cent. Bell v. Epps, 509 So.2d 886, 892 (Miss.1987). See also Aqua-Culture Techs., Ltd. v. Holly, 677 So.2d 171, 184 (Miss.1996). ¶ 16. Here, the forgery of Wise's withdrawal slip was the act of a single bank employee. There is no indication in this record of any prior notice to the bank of problems with the bank teller involved. Valley Bank acted properly in attempting to thoroughly investigate this matter and determine the truth concerning the funds missing from Wise's account. It took a handwriting expert to ultimately determine the truth. Considering the totality of the circumstances and the bank's overall aggregate conduct, the bank acted properly in attempting to get to the truth as to what happened here. ¶ 17. The right to have a jury consider punitive damages is dependent upon something more than the plaintiff's bare demand. Whether the defendant's misconduct is sufficiently egregious or offensive as to warrant submission to the jury on the question of punitive damages lies initially with the trial court. Id. By granting Valley Bank's request for summary judgment, the trial court concluded that, even if all of Wise's allegations about the bank's conduct were accepted as true, the bank's actions were not so egregious as to amount to an independent tort. The trial judge concluded correctly, that the evidence, even viewed in the light most favorable to Wise, did not demonstrate the willful, insulting, or abusive conduct that would warrant allowing a jury to consider the possibility of punitive damages. Wise has not met the threshold showing of egregious conduct necessary to submit the issue of punitive damages to a jury. The Court of Appeals erred in concluding otherwise.