Newell v. Newell -

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Newell v. Newell -

State: Illinois

Court: 3rd District Appellate

Docket No: 3-10-0003 Rel

Case Date: 01/27/2011

Preview:No. 3--10--0003 Opinion filed January 27, 2011 _________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS THIRD DISTRICT A.D., 2011 JARRED NEWELL, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of the 12th Judicial Circuit, Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Will County, Illinois, ) v. ) ) No. 07--CH--1125 RUTH NEWELL, FIRST MIDWEST ) BANCORP INC., an Illinois ) Corporation, ) Honorable ) Michael J. Powers, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge, Presiding. _________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE LYTTON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice O'Brien concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Schmidt dissented, with opinion. _________________________________________________________________ OPINION Jarred Newell filed a complaint against his mother, Ruth Newell, and First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (FMB), alleging conversion and breach of contract involving Ruth's unauthorized withdrawal of funds from a saving account in his name. The trial court ruled

that Jarred's complaint was barred by the three-year statute of limitations in section 4-111 of the Uniform Commercial Code, Bank Deposits and Collections (UCC) (810 ILCS 5/4-111 (West 2006)) and granted FMB's motion for summary judgment. for further proceedings. We reverse and remand

In 1989, Ruth and Jarred were involved in an automobile accident. At the time of the accident, Jarred was six years old.

Ruth filed a lawsuit, individually and as the mother and next friend of Jarred, against various defendants involved in the accident. Several defendants eventually agreed to settle the case. On

December 29, 1993, the trial court approved the settlement and dismissed the complaint as to those parties involved in the

agreement. In addition to ordering the payment of medical expenses and awarding fees and costs, the order required that the funds awarded to Jarred be deposited in an account at FMB or some other federally insured depository. The order further stated: "No funds

shall be withdrawn from the minor's account without prior court order." On January 14, 1994, Ruth opened a guardianship account at FMB for Jarred's benefit. Ruth used Jarred's social security number to open the account. The terms of the account included a signature

card, which was signed by Ruth "as guardian for Jarred Newel, a minor." In accordance with the trial court's order, the signature No minor

card included the following statement: "Minor account.

withdraw until 18 years old on 5-18-00 per court order - See Louise McLaren." Ruth's attorney, Thomas Cowgill, gave bank personnel a

copy of the court order when Ruth opened the account. Between January 14, 1994, and May 23, 1994, Ruth deposited a total of $210,050.11 into the account. She subsequently removed By June 30, 1997,

funds from the account without a court order. 2

the account was substantially reduced to a balance of $46.

Ruth's She

last withdrawal from the account was on September 30, 2001.

claimed that she used the money for her son's health and welfare. She did not keep any records of the withdrawals. In his discovery deposition, Jarred explained that he became aware of the FMB account during his teens; he was told that he would be able to withdraw the funds when he turned 18 years of age. When Jarred was 16 or 17 years old, he asked Ruth about the funds, and she told him that she changed the age to obtain the funds from 18 to 21. account. When he was almost 21, Jarred again asked Ruth about the account. Ruth told him that he had to wait until he was 23 years At that point, Jarred became "curious" However, he trusted Ruth and Jarred did not ask his mother how much money was in the

old to withdraw the money.

and "wondered what was going on."

decided to wait until he turned 23 to withdraw the money because that was when he graduated from college. In May 2005, Jarred graduated from college and turned 23 years old. He asked his mother for the money. Once again, she was Jarred then began

evasive and said the funds were not available.

to investigate the status of the funds on his own. In late 2005 or early 2006, Ruth told Jarred that there was no money left in the FMB account. In October or November of 2006, Cowgill told Jarred that he

Jarred contacted Attorney Cowgill.

helped Ruth deposit the settlement money into a bank account in 1994. In March 2007, Jarred's attorney confirmed that the FMB 3

account had been depleted. On April 11, 2007, Jarred filed a four-count complaint against Ruth and FMB. Counts I through III alleged that Ruth committed

conversion and sought a petition for rule to show cause against her for failing to obtain a court order prior to the withdrawal of funds from his FMB account. Count IV claimed that FMB breached its

contract with Jarred by processing withdrawals from the account without a court order. FMB filed a summary judgment motion in which it asserted, among other things, that count IV should be dismissed because Jarred's claim against the bank was barred by the three-year statute of limitations under section 4-111 of the UCC (810 ILCS 5/4-111 (West 2006)). The trial court found that the three-year

statute of limitations applied and granted FMB's motion. STANDARD OF REVIEW Summary judgment is a drastic means of disposing of litigation and, as such, the right of the moving party must be clear and free of doubt. Jackson Jordan, Inc. v. Leydig, Voit & Mayer, 158 Ill. Summary judgment should be granted only where "the

2d 240 (1994).

pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." 735 ILCS 5/2-1005(c) (West 2006). In

deciding whether a ruling for summary judgment is appropriate, we construe the record strictly against the movant and liberally in favor of the nonmoving party. Espinoza v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern 4

Ry. Co., 165 Ill. 2d 107 (1995).

We review the trial court's Friends

decision to grant a motion for summary judgment de novo. of Parks v. Chicago Park District, 203 Ill. 2d 312 (2003). ANALYSIS I. Applicable Statute of Limitations

Jarred contends that the trial court erred in finding that his breach of contract claim against FMB was barred by the 3-year statute of limitations under section 4-111 of the UCC, rather than the 10-year period for a common law breach of contract action. Where two statutes of limitations arguably relate to the same cause of action, the statute that more specifically relates to the action must be applied. Haddad's of Illinois, Inc. v. Credit Union A plaintiff cannot of limitations by

1 Credit Union, 286 Ill. App. 3d 1069 (1997). avoid the application of a UCC statute

characterizing its cause of action as a non-UCC claim.

Watseka

First National Bank v. Horney, 292 Ill. App. 3d 933 (1997). Section 13-206 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13206 (West 2006)) governs common law breach of contract suits and applies a 10-year statute of limitations. Section 13-206 provides: "[A]ctions on bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange, written leases, written contracts, or other evidences of indebtedness in writing, shall be commenced within 10 years next after the cause of action accrued." 5/13-206 (West 2006). Section 13-206 is a general statute that applies not only to written contracts but also to bonds, promissory notes, bills of 5 735 ILCS

exchange, leases and other indebtedness. 2006).

735 ILCS 5/13-206 (West

Section 4-111, on the other hand, directly relates to a bank's duties and obligations to its customers under article 4 of the UCC. 810 ILCS 5/4-101 et seq. (West 2006). states: "An action to enforce an obligation, duty or right Section 4-111 of the UCC

arising under this Article must be commenced within 3 years after the cause of action accrues." 111 (West 2006). Article 4 governs claims involving unauthorized signatures on items from "accounts." See 810 ILCS 5/4-104(a) (West 2006). The 810 ILCS 5/4-

term "account" is defined under article 4 to include a savings account. 810 ILCS 5/4-104(a)(1) (West 2006); see Boutros v. Riggs

National Bank, 655 F. 2d 1257 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (Article 4 of UCC governs savings accounts). Additionally, a saving account

withdrawal slip is an "item" as defined in section 4-104(a)(9). 810 ILCS 5/4-104(a)(9) (West 2006); Boutros, 655 F.2d at 1260. Thus, the article 4 statute of limitations in section 4-111 more specifically pertains to the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from a savings account. Jarred's allegations of common law breach of contract do not insulate his cause of action from the applicable UCC statute of limitations. His complaint claims that the bank breached its

contractual obligation to him by allowing Ruth to withdraw funds by presenting her signature on a withdrawal slip without an

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accompanying court order.

Section 4-401(a) of the UCC provides

that an item is "properly payable if it is authorized by the customer and is in accordance with any agreement between the customer and the bank." 810 ILCS 5/4-401(a) (West 2006). Section

4-401 applies to situations where, as here, a withdrawal is alleged to be in breach of the signatory card and included instructions that formed the bank/customer agreement. National City Bank v.

Rhoades, 150 Ohio App. 3d 75, 2002-Ohio-6083, 779 N.E.2d 799; Ahrens v. Westchester Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n, 58 A.D.2d 799 (N.Y. App. Div. 1977). We therefore hold that section 4-111's

three-year statute of limitations applies to Jarred's cause of action. II. The Discovery Rule

The application of section 4-111 does not necessarily time-bar Jarred's claim against FMB. Section 4-111 provides that an action

to enforce a right or obligation must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues. when a cause of action "accrues." The UCC does not define

Therefore, we must look to other See Continental

Illinois law applying statutes of limitations.

Casualty Co. v. American National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago, 329 Ill. App. 3d 686 (2002). An action for breach of contract accrues when the breach of the contractual duty or obligation occurs. ABF Capital Corp. v. The discovery statute of

McLauchlan, 167 F. Supp. 2d 1011 (N.D. Ill. 2001). rule is an equitable exception that tolls

the

limitations period until the plaintiff discovers, or has reason to

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discover, the cause of action. Ill. 2d 407 (1981).

Knox College v. Celotex Corp., 88

The rule was created to alleviate the harsh

consequences that result from a strict application of a limitations period. Continental Casualty, 329 Ill. App. 3d at 701. It

typically applies in cases where the relationship between the injury and the alleged wrongful conduct is obscure. Rodrigue v. Thus,

Olin Employees Credit Union, 406 F.3d 434 (7th Cir. 2005).

under the discovery rule, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the plaintiff knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that he was injured, the cause of his injury, and that there was some indication of wrongdoing.

Belleville Toyota, Inc. v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 199 Ill. 2d 325 (2002). Generally, the issue of whether an action was brought within the time allowed by the discovery rule is a question of fact. Witherell v. Weimer, 85 Ill. 2d 146 (1981). However, where it is

clear from the undisputed facts that only one conclusion can be drawn, the question may be resolved as a matter of law. v. Kalis, 352 Ill. App. 3d 736 (2004). In this case, Jarred alleged that his mother did not tell him that the money was gone until late 2005 or early 2006. Prior to Castello

that time, he did not know how much money was in the savings account. Jarred later had a conversation with attorney Cowgill in

October or November 2006 and learned that the settlement money had all been deposited into the account. the money was gone in March 2007. He ultimately verified that

8

Under these circumstances, Jarred contends there was no way he reasonably should have discovered that Ruth withdrew the funds from his account without a court order since she was in a position of trust. He claims that he accepted his mother's explanation of the

change in age to withdraw funds for several years, but eventually decided to investigate the matter in the 2005. FMB questions the

reasonableness of Jarred's delayed investigation and argues that the section 4-111 clock began ticking in the spring of 2003 when Jarred became "curious" about Ruth's evasiveness. disputed allegations, Given the

there is a question of fact concerning

whether Jarred should have discovered the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from the saving account before the fall of 2005. FMB nevertheless insists that the discovery rule does not apply to UCC or breach of contract claims. It cites several cases

that have refused to apply the rule to claims involving the conversion of negotiable instruments under the UCC. See Haddad's

of Illinois, 286 Ill. App. 3d at 1072; Kidney Cancer Ass'n v. North Shore Community Bank & Trust Co., 373 Ill. App. 3d 396 (2007); and Rodrigue, 406 F.3d at 441. Those cases recognize the viability of

the discovery rule, but note that the rule is only applicable in conversion of negotiable instruments cases when there are

allegations of fraudulent concealment.

Specifically, in Haddad's

of Illinois, the court explained that under the UCC, liability of negotiable instruments under article 3 cannot be open-ended. Thus, while harsh, the discovery rule is inapplicable to section 3118(g)'s statute of limitations absent fraud. See Haddad's of

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Illinois, 286 Ill. App. 3d at 1075; 810 ILCS 5/3-118(g) (West 2006). We decline to follow the holding in those cases for three reasons. First, we find them distinguishable because they involve This is

the conversion of negotiable instruments under article 3. not an article 3 case.

This is a breach of contract case involving While both claims

an agreement between a bank and the customer.

fall within the UCC, the commercial policies of certainty and finality of negotiable instruments that govern article 3 are not the same policies that influence the provisions of article 4. See

Continental Casualty, 329 Ill. App. 3d at 702; T. Quinn, Quinn's Uniform Commercial Code Commentary & Law Digest

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