Peoples National Bank v. Weiner

Peoples National Bank (plaintiff) (the Bank) loaned Speedcraft Auto Parts, Inc. (Speedcraft) money and took a security interest in Speedcraft’s inventory and equipment (the collateral). An attorney named Stanley Weiner represented the Bank in this transaction. Weiner hired McCall Abstract Corp. (McCall) to perform title searches on the collateral and to file the requisite financing statement. McCall delivered the financing statement to the county clerk and mailed a copy of the financing statement with a check for the filing fees to the Secretary of State’s Office. McCall never received anything back from the Secretary of State’s office. About one month later, Speedcraft filed for bankruptcy. During the bankruptcy proceedings, the parties discovered that the Bank’s financing statement was never filed. Accordingly, the bankruptcy court deemed the Bank a general unsecured creditor, which affected the Bank’s priority position. The Bank sued Weiner and McCall (defendants) for damages resulting from their failure to file a financing statement with the Secretary of State. The Bank moved for partial summary judgment as to liability and argued that Weiner and McCall breached their duty to confirm that the financing statement was properly filed. The trial court denied the Bank’s motion. The Bank appealed. On appeal, Weiner and McCall maintained that they perfected the Bank’s security interest by mailing the financing statement to the Secretary of State.