California Court of Appeal

In plaintiff's suit against Wells Fargo claiming that it failed to pay her the money in her deceased husband's accounts, and in plaintiff's attorney's qui tam action on behalf of the State of California, claiming that the bank violated the False Claims Act by failing to report the existence of the allegedly unpaid funds that should have been escheated to the state, a grant of summary judgment in favor of the bank in both suits is affirmed where: 1) Wells Fargo's evidence that no money remained in the accounts shifted to plaintiff the burden of presenting evidence sufficient to create a triable issue as to nonpayment, and her possession of the receipt and her testimony were insufficient to do so; and 2) the trial court properly dismissed the qui tam action because the adverse determination of plaintiff's action conclusively establishes that the attorney cannot prevail.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/15/2010
• Published 09/16/2010

Judges

• Pollak

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Michael Lynn Gabriel, Jan T. Chilton