BANKING AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
06-2-5329 Covington v. Daniel, App. Div. (per curiam) (13 pp.) Plaintiff, whose home was severely damages by fire and who orally agreed with defendant-Daniel, her longtime friend and insurance agent, that Daniel, who would handle the repairs to the home, appeals the trial court’s grant of defendant-Bank of America’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the claims against it. Daniels maintained a business account with BOA and allegedly signed plaintiff’s name on the back of a check representing insurance proceeds and deposited the check into her account. The trial court found that under Stella v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., BOA not liable to plaintiff because, notwithstanding the alleged forgery, the funds were delivered to Daniels, the intended person, for use in paying for the repairs to plaintiff’s home. The panel affirms for the reasons expressed below. It concludes that Stella is applicable and that plaintiff’s injury was due to her entrusting the funds to Daniels, not from the manner in which they were transmitted by BOA, and that even if plaintiff had not authorized Daniel to sign or deposit the check into her account, she certainly knew, based on her deposition testimony, that the insurance proceeds were to wind up with Daniel so she could pay for the repairs and thus the funds reached their intended destination.
