Opinion ID: 611861
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to State a Negligence Claim

Text: 16 The district court dismissed plaintiff's negligence claim against People's Bank as time-barred by the Virginia two-year statute of limitations. While we have no quarrel with the district court's procedural analysis, we affirm the dismissal of this claim for a more fundamental reason: plaintiff failed to state an actionable negligence claim against the bank. 2 17 The complaint alleged that People's Bank was negligent in failing to withdraw plaintiff's $55,000 cashier's check from the collection system. In order to state a viable negligence claim, plaintiff must allege the breach of a legal duty owed to him by People's Bank. See, e.g., W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, § 30 at 164 (Lawyer's ed. 1984). Plaintiff failed to allege any specific duty owed him by People's Bank, and on appeal is unable to demonstrate that the law placed any duty upon the bank to withdraw the cashier's check from the collection process after it had been accepted for value from Hayes. Under the general rule, a cashier's check is a cash equivalent, considered accepted in advance by the act of its issuance, [and] is not subject to countermand like an ordinary check. 10 Am.Jur.2d Banks § 643 (1963) (footnote omitted). See also id. at § 544. This court has followed that general rule. See United States v. Milton, 382 F.2d 976, 978 (6th Cir.1967), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 952 (1968). 18 While we may sympathize with plaintiff's loss, under the circumstances of this case, the law does not impose a duty upon People's Bank to assume the risk of plaintiff's ill-advised dealings with Hayes, particularly in light of the fact that the bank was not informed of Hayes' fraud until after it had accepted the Florida check. 3 The dismissal of the negligence claim therefore must be affirmed. 19