MidAmerica Bank v. Charter One Bank

In this consolidated appeal of the trial court’s ruling after a bench trial, defendant Charter One Bank (Charter One) appeals the trial court’s ruling that Charter One was liable to plaintiff MidAmerica Bank (MidAmerica) for the $50,000 value of a cashier’s check Charter One had refused to honor, and MidAmerica appeals the trial court’s ruling denying it attorney fees. For the reasons that follow, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

The parties do not dispute the basic underlying facts. Mary Christelle, the mother of David Hernandez (who was also president of Essential Technologies of…