World Cellphones Distributors Corp. v. De Surinaamsche Bank, N.V.
A bank mistakenly sent a duplicate $119,490 wire transfer and the recipient corporation and its owner refused to return the funds, applying them to a related customer's invoices. The Third DCA affirmed summary judgment on conversion — the recipients admitted receiving the duplicate funds, receiving demand, and refusing return, and a mistaken belief in a legal right to the funds is no defense — but reversed summary judgment on civil theft because the record lacked clear and convincing evidence of felonious intent.
Key facts
- Bank mistakenly sent a duplicate wire transfer of $119,490 to World Cellphones Distributors Corp. and its owner, who received the funds, received demand for return, and refused to return them, instead applying them to a related customer's invoices.
- Trial court granted summary judgment for the bank on conversion and civil theft claims; World Cellphones and its owner appealed.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
Useful for practitioners litigating conversion and civil theft claims arising from mistaken payments or erroneous wire transfers: it confirms that good-faith mistake is no defense to conversion but that the same record… — full analysis with a trial
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