Peatros v. BANK OF AMERICA NT & SA

Opinion

MOSK, J.

Section 8 of the National Bank Act of 1864, as later incorporated as amended in section 5136 of title 62 of the Revised Statutes of 1878, and as presently codified at section 24, paragraph Fifth, of title 12 of the United States Code (hereafter sometimes section 24, Fifth), which is its common designation, grants a national bank the power to “dismiss” any of its officers “at pleasure” by its board of directors, including its “president, vice president, cashier, and other officers,”, and thereby bestows immunity from liability arising from its exercise (12 U.S.C. § 24, Fifth).

The…