Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
O

Owens v. Andrews Bank & Trust Co.

220 S.E.2d 116 (1975)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Owens v. Andrews Bank & Trust Co.

South Carolina Supreme Court
220 S.E.2d 116 (1975)

RW

Facts

Kittie Owens (plaintiff) deposited $879 in the “Christmas Club” account Owens maintained with Andrews Bank & Trust Company (bank) (defendant). Shortly before Christmas, the bank disbursed payments to all Christmas Club account holders. The bank drafted Owens’s disbursement check for $879, but Owens never received the check. Owens demanded payment. The bank did not comply with that demand, apparently because an unscrupulous bank manager had waylaid Owens’s check and misappropriated it for other bank purposes. Owens sued for conversion. The trial court directed the jury’s verdict for Owens and awarded Owens $879 in compensatory damages and $4,121 in punitive damages. On appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, the bank pointed out that Owens’s savings had always been commingled with the bank’s other deposits. Therefore, according to the bank, the money in Owens’s account did not constitute property that could be tortiously converted, but merely represented a debt that the bank owed Owens. As such, the bank argued that Uniform Commercial Code provisions pertaining to bank-deposit cases precluded Owens from recovering punitive damages.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Littlejohn, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Key Terms