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Commercial Law Keyed to Whaley
Kunkel v. Sprague National Bank
Citation:
128 F.3d 636 (1997)Facts
Roger Kunkel, a farmer, sold cattle to Clarence Hoffman, who purchased a cashier’s check from Sprague National Bank to pay Kunkel. Kunkel deposited the check with Sprague National Bank. Shortly after issuing the check, Hoffman claimed that the cattle were diseased and requested the bank to stop payment on the cashier’s check. The bank complied with Hoffman’s request and refused to honor the check when presented for payment. Kunkel sued the bank for wrongful dishonor, arguing that a bank cannot refuse to honor its own cashier’s check based on a stop payment order from the purchaser, as the bank becomes primarily liable on the instrument once it is issued.
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