Opinion ID: 2308522
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: ATM Withdrawals.

Text: Appellant's claim seeking recovery for over $46,000.00 in money allegedly withdrawn without authorization from Ms. Graves's checking account through ATMs also fails. The Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq. controls this claim. EFTA creates a cause of action for consumers: any person who fails to comply with any provision of [EFTA] with respect to any consumer . . . is liable to such consumer. . . . 15 U.S.C. § 1693m(a). Appellant claimed that Riggs violated EFTA by refusing to refund the withdrawn funds and by its failure to provide a timely report of investigation into the withdrawals. See 15 U.S.C. § 1693g (a) (limiting the amount of consumer liability for unauthorized transactions); 15 U.S.C. § 1693f (EFTA's error resolution provision). However, EFTA contains a one-year statute of limitations period: Without regard to the amount in controversy, any action under this section may be brought in any United States district court, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation. 15 U.S.C. § 1693m (g). Although the discovery rule could apply to this claim, the statute of limitations begins to run from the date of notice of the injury. See Ehrenhaft, supra, 483 A.2d at 1201 (noting that cause of action accrues when the plaintiff knew or through due diligence should have known of the injury). Appellant did not file suit until August 4, 2004. Not only did appellant fail to bring his claim within one year of the final unauthorized transaction (December 20, 2002), he also failed to bring it within a year his appointment as the personal representative of the estate (April 2003), when he began receiving copies of his mother's account statements. Thus, even applying the discovery rule to appellant's claim for unauthorized withdrawals from the ATM's, appellant's claim must fail. [9] Accordingly, the decision of the trial court is Affirmed.