"I NEVER BROKE THE LAW"

In an interesting case tried pro se before Judge Huck, the 11th Circuit has affirmed her factual findings that the plaintiff had no claim against Bank of America for unauthorized transfers from her account:

Based on the District Court’s finding, Bank of America was not liable for the withdrawals for at least one of two reasons. Merisier furnished the means of access to her account voluntarily, either as a willing participant in a fraudulent scheme or as one duped by Jeanty; Merisier admitted the information could not have fallen into Jeanty’s hands by mistake or accident. First, therefore, Merisier furnished Jeanty with access to her account without notifying Bank of America that she did not intend him to withdraw funds. See id. § 1693a(12)(A). Alternatively, Merisier collaborated with Jeanty, which would have brought the disputed transactions squarely under § 1693a(12)(B), which excludes transfers “initiated with fraudulent intent by the consumer or any person acting in concert with the consumer.” Either way, EFTA’s error-correction protocols did not apply to these transactions.

Not sure why this was tried or worse yet, why it was appealed?

I also like footnote 11, arguing relevancy:

We reject Merisier’s argument that District Court premised its factual conclusions on irrelevant information. According to Merisier, the District Court ought not to have considered evidence suggesting a scheme to defraud, evidence suggesting the skirting of cash-deposit reporting requirements, or evidence raising suspicions about the source of the funds in Merisier’s account. These facts are all relevant because they suggest the withdrawals were authorized.

Indeed, that would seem to be the only point of such evidence.