Opinion ID: 363827
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Action Against the Bank.

Text: 10 Breach of Bank's Fiduciary Duty. 11 The trial court found several instances in which the Bank breached its fiduciary duty as escrow agent. First, the Bank negligently released the originally escrowed documents to Daugherty. Second, the Bank assisted Daugherty in reselling the 800 acres by certifying that Daugherty had no obligation to the Perkins on the land. The Bank failed to notify Mrs. Perkins of the sale and made no attempt to collect for the escrow account the proceeds of the sale. And finally, the Bank was negligent when it filed the deed of trust to the San Antonio property without noting the assignment of said deed to Mrs. Perkins. This omission allowed Daugherty, acting as agent for Tanzana, to later resell the San Antonio property. 12 The trial judge's finding that the Bank breached its duty as escrow agent is not clearly erroneous. There exists ample evidence to support this finding. 13 Causation. 14 The Bank contends that even if it was negligent, Daugherty had accomplished all necessary steps to complete his fraud from the date the Escrow was entered into, and no subsequent act or omission by the Bank affected this result. We reject this contention, and affirm, on the basis of the trial court's opinion, the finding that the original escrow agreement did give to the Perkins substantial security arrangements to protect the payment of the $80,000 balance due on the transaction. We likewise sustain the trial court's decision for the reasons therein given that the Bank's negligence damaged the Perkins by compromising the security provided in the original escrow agreement. 15