Court Opinion

ID: 9792470
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:29:48.944629+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:43.032094
License: Public Domain

BAKES, Chief Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur in this Court’s upholding the judgment in favor of Monarch Investment against Valley Bank. However, as to the claim of the Neibaurs against Valley Bank, the man Palmer, who represented to the Neibaurs that he was an agent of Monarch Investment of Colorado, was actually “an imposter” to the extent that he claimed to be a representative of a Colorado business which actually held that name. Palmer appeared on the scene, impersonating both Monarch Investment of Colorado, and himself as its agent. Neibaurs could have best prevented the fraud by knowing both the principal and the agent with whom they were dealing, and being certain that the alleged principal (Monarch Investment of Colorado) owned the backhoe which they were about to purchase. As between the Neibaurs and Valley Bank, the Neibaurs were in a much better position to have prevented the loss from ever occurring by knowing who they were dealing with, and knowing whether or not the backhoe which they were about to purchase was the property of Monarch Investment of Colorado. As between those two “victims” of Palmer’s fraud, I believe the loss should fall on Neibaurs. The district court was correct in so ruling, and I would affirm the district court.