Wells Fargo's Wrongful Conversion
Nov 02, 2016OUTCOME: Client Recovers Funds Wrongfully Taken by Wells Fargo Bank
Wells Fargo took $25K from my client's CD as a setoff to recover its loss on a charged off loan it made to my client's sister two years after the CD was opened. Well's Fargo claimed that the sister wa ... s a joint owner of the CD, rather than only a beneficiary. After a 4 day trial, the judge ruled that "no signature card or any other document was ever signed {by the sister] ... that would have been an indication she was a joint owner ..." and that the Bank "did not ... obtain [from the sister] ... any photo identification as required by law ... and there was no evidence the Bank had [the sister's} social security number ... prior to ... when she applied for the ... loan..." The trial judge stated that "the Bank's action in wrongfully converting the funds ... and refusing to return the funds when rightfully demanded goes beyond a breach of contract." The Bank appealed these rulings, but they were affirmed by the 2nd District Court of Appeal.
