Maine Law Court Allows Non-Account Owner's Negligence Claim to Proceed

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, recently issued a decision in the case of Gray v. TD Bank, N.A., 43 A.3d 735, 2012 ME 83, allowing Robert L. Gray to move forward with a negligence claim against TD Bank. Gray’s claim is based on the Bank’s alleged failure to maintain adequate records reflecting whether he had an ownership interest in a checking account that he believed to be a joint account held with his mother.

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First Circuit Reverses Patco v. People’s United: Internet Banking Security Procedures were not Commercially Reasonable

On July 3, 2012, a three-judge panel of the the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the summary judgment granted to People’s United Bank in the case of Patco Construction Co., Inc. v. Peoples United Bank, --- F.3d ----, 2012 WL 2543057 (C.A. 1 (Me.)). The case has been widely followed in the banking industry, there being few court decisions analyzing the legal framework for liability with respect to unauthorized internet banking transactions. The original grant of summary judgment by the Federal District Court of the District of Maine was considered a victory for the bank, but the First Circuit’s decision negates most of this victory.

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Maine Law Court Issues Rare Opinion Interpreting Truth-In-Lending Act

The Maine Law Court recently issued an opinion in Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v. Pelletier (“Deutsche Bank”) regarding a consumer’s rights under the federal and Maine Truth-In-Lending Acts (“TILA”). Such opinions are quite rare, with the Law Court’s next most recent decision interpreting TILA having been issued in 1993, and prior to that in 1984.

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Five Take-Aways from Patco Construction Co., Inc. v. People’s United Bank

The Federal District Court for the District of Maine’s August 3, 2011 decision to adopt U.S. Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III’s recommendation to grant summary judgment in Patco Construction Co., Inc. v. People’s United Bank, a case widely followed in the banking industry, was an important victory for the Bank. It should be noted that the plaintiff, Patco Construction, has appealed the District Court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (case no. 11-2031). Although the decision should be read in its entirety, here are a few important take-aways from the Magistrate Judge’s analysis.

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Internet Banking: a cautionary note on indemnification from Patco Case

Although the decision by the Federal District Court for the District of Maine to grant summary judgment in favor of People’s United Bank in the recent Patco Construction case has received much attention, another interesting decision by the Court was the dismissal of the Bank’s counterclaim for indemnification under its ACH and eBanking agreements.

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