Any Kind Checks Cashed, Inc. v. Talcott

Facts

On January 10, 2000, D.J. Rivera, acting as an allegedly fraudulent “financial advisor,” convinced Talcott to send him a $10,000 check in order to cover travel expenses to obtain a return on a previous investment Talcott hade made with Rivera. Rivera had Talcott make out the check to his partner Salvatore Guarino, who then attempted to cash the check at Any Kind Checks Cashed, Inc. (“Any Kind”). That same morning, Rivera told Talcott to cancel the check as only $5,700 would be required for travel costs. Talcott stopped the check but Guarino was still able to cash the $10,000 check as the supervisor at Any Kind approved the transaction despite being unsuccessful at contacting the maker of the check, Talcott.

Later, Rivera would convince Talcott to send Rivera the $5,700 check, while Talcott was unaware that the $10,000 check had been cashed. Guarino went back to Any Kind and attempted to cash the second check. The supervisor at Any Kind was contacted by phone and she instructed the employee not to cash Guarino’s check until the maker of the check confirmed its legitimacy. The employee was able to reach Talcott who confirmed he had written the $5,700 check. A couple of days later, Rivera told Talcott that Guarino was a scammer and that he should cancel the $5,700, which Talcott did immediately. Any Kind subsequently sued Talcott to recover payment on the two cancelled checks. The trial court found in favor of Any Kind for the $5,700 check but not the $10,000 check. Any Kind appealed.