Description/Paper Instructions
Question Description
THE CASE OF THE CHECK THAT WAS NOT ACCEPTED
Individually, Zuzzane had the opportunity to purchase a valuable piece of land for $500,000 if she exercised the option by mailing a deposit check for $50,000 by a specified date. She planned to build housing for her family and her elderly mother on this $600,000 piece of land. She drafted a $50,000 cheque from her First American Bank personal checking account and mailed it to the landowner. This checking account has been in Zuzzane’s possession for ten years. She verified electronically that she had $60,000 in this personal account at the time she drew the cheque. However, he owed the bank $30,000 for a 60-day-overdue collateralized loan. Her Limited Liability Company took out the loan and put up collateral to secure it. It had been two years since that loan had been taken out. The bank declined to recognize the $50,000 cheque, and the paperwork that resulted cost $750.00. Zuzzane’s option became void as a result of the dishonor, and the landowner sold the land to someone else for $550,000, resulting in a significant loss for Zuzzane. She filed a lawsuit against the bank for damages.
The Case
Zuzzane’s counsel demonstrated the land’s value, her losses, and the fact that she had always paid the bank on time, with the exception of the most recent missed payment, at trial. The bank’s attorneys demonstrated that Zuzzane had been late on her last LLC loan payment for over sixty days, and that it was their policy not to notify customers if there were insufficient funds in their accounts to cover all checks written because doing so would put an undue strain on the banking system.
The Trial Arguments
Zuzzane’s counsel contended that a bank has no power to dishonor a check unless there is a suspicion of forgery, an invalid endorsement, or other legal reasons. They also claimed that the bank should have alerted Zuzzane before dishonoring the check based on their relationship, so she could have taken other steps to avoid losing the land, and that she did not have an automatic deduction from her personal account for the company loan. The bank’s counsel maintained that Zuzzane’s late payment suggested she was in financial distress, that they had the right to confiscate her account to repay the overdue payment, and that instead, they merely refused to honor checks on her account until the overdue debt was paid. They further claimed that, according to banking industry conventions, it is the customer’s obligation, not the bank’s, to ensure that sufficient money are available to support checks signed. Every day that the debt was not paid, they were losing money.
Discussion Questions
Do you think the jury will side with Zuzzane or with the bank? Why?
What will Zuzzane’s damages be if you believe she should win? What will the bank’s damages be if you believe the bank should win?
When, if ever, should a bank be entitled to balance a loan to a client against any bank account where the customer’s name appears?
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RUBRIC
Quality of Response |
No Response |
Poor/Unsatisfactory |
Satisfactory |
Good |
Excellent |
Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. |
30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. |
40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. |
50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. |
Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). |
Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. |
5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. |
10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. |
15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. |
20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. |
Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors |
10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors |
15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. |
20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. |
Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. |
5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. The can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper |
7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. |
10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. |
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