Cecil King, Jr. v. Bank of New York Mellon

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:12-cv-01230-AJT-TCB Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999470545].. [13-1970]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-1970

CECIL D. B. KING, JR.; CECILIA KING GANTT; CHARLENE KING
PERDUE; GINA BEATE CERA KING; MURIEL KING DE'TOLES; CHRISTA
KING; MATHIAS AHRENS; CYRIL D. B. KING,
Plaintiffs – Appellants,
v.
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,
Defendant – Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria.
Anthony J. Trenga,
District Judge. (1:12-cv-01230-AJT-TCB)

Argued:

September 16, 2014

Decided:

November 6, 2014

Before NIEMEYER, WYNN, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ARGUED: W. Scott Greco, GRECO & GRECO, PC, McLean, Virginia, for
Appellants.
Amy Elizabeth Miller, MCGUIREWOODS LLP, Tysons
Corner, Virginia, for Appellee.
ON BRIEF: Frederick D. Greco,
GRECO & GRECO, PC, McLean, Virginia, for Appellants.
John D.
Wilburn, Stephen P. Mulligan, Anastasia P. Cordova, MCGUIREWOODS
LLP, Tysons Corner, Virginia, for Appellee.

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Cecil D.B. King, Jr. and his siblings (“Plaintiffs”) appeal
the

district

court’s

order

denying

their

motion

for

summary

judgment and granting summary judgment to defendant The Bank of
New York Mellon.

Plaintiffs advanced several theories arguing

that The Bank of New York Mellon owes them more than $5,000,000
related to discharged certificates of deposit (“CDs”) that they
currently possess.

Finding no reversible error, we affirm the

district court’s grant of summary judgment.
We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de
novo.

Glynn v. EDO Corp., 710 F.3d 209, 213 (4th Cir. 2013).

And though we view the facts in the light most favorable to the
nonmoving party, “[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect
the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly
preclude the entry of summary judgment.”
Lobby,

Inc.,

speculative
scintilla
case.”

of

477

U.S.

allegations
evidence

242,
do

in

248

not

support

Anderson v. Liberty

(1986).

suffice,
of

[the

“Conclusory
nor

does

nonmoving

a

or
mere

party’s]

Thompson v. Potomac Elec. Power Co., 312 F.3d 645, 649

(4th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks omitted).
When their father died in 1998, Plaintiffs found five CDs
in a box of cancelled checks in his apartment.

King v. Bank of

New York Mellon Corp., NB, 957 F. Supp. 2d 680, 681–82 (E.D. Va.
2013).

First National Bank of Chicago issued the CDs in 1976.
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Id. at 681.

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The five CDs were made payable to “Bearer,” each

with a face value of $1,000,000.

Id.

The CDs matured on July

28, 1977, with a full value of $5,329,513.90, representing both
principal and 6.5% interest.

Id.

On July 28, 1977, Morgan

Guaranty Trust Company of New York, acting as First National
Bank of Chicago’s agent, paid Irving Trust Company, which then
physically possessed the CDs, their full value.
The
successor

Bank
in

of

New

York

interest.

Mellon

Plaintiffs

is

Irving

advanced

Id.
Trust
several

Company’s
theories

alleging that The Bank of New York Mellon owes them the CDs’
full value plus interest that would have accrued since 1977.
Upon careful review of the voluminous record, we must agree with
the district court that Plaintiffs, as holders of discharged
bearer instruments, have not made a successful claim against The
Bank of New York Mellon, which has been discharged from all
liability on the CDs.

Id. at 684–88; see also N.Y. U.C.C. §§ 3-

601(3)(b) & 3-603.
Under N.Y. U.C.C. § 3-603, “[t]he liability of any party is
discharged to the extent of his payment or satisfaction to the
holder . . . .”

Here, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York

paid the full value of the CDs to Irving Trust Company, which
was undisputedly at that time the “holder” because it physically
possessed the CDs.

King, 957 F. Supp. 2d at 681.

4

This payment

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discharged “all parties” under N.Y. U.C.C. § 3-601. *
to

their

claims

sounding

in

contract,

Further, as

quasi-contract,

and

fiduciary relationship, Plaintiffs have provided no evidence to
support their allegations.
In sum, we affirm the district court’s entry of summary
judgment in favor of The Bank of New York Mellon.
AFFIRMED

*

This discharge renders moot Plaintiffs’ indorsement-inblank theory relating to the Irving Trust Company stamp on the
back of the CDs.
Even assuming a valid indorsement in blank,
the payment discharged the Irving Trust Company and its
successor in interest, The Bank of New York Mellon, from all
liability on the CDs. See N.Y. U.C.C. §§ 3-601(3)(b) & 3-603.

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