Docket: S258019
Opinion Date: March 7, 2022
Judge: Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Areas of Law: Personal Injury
This case law update is brought to you by Freeway Law auto accident and personal injury lawyers in Orange County. The following is not one of our cases, but it is of some significance, and we thought we should share it with our readers for informational purposes. The information above is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice.
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal affirming the judgment of the trial court sustaining Well Fargo Bank, N.A.’s demurrer to Plaintiff’s negligence claim, holding that Plaintiff was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.
At issue on appeal was whether a lender owes the borrower a tort duty sounding in general negligence principles to process and respond carefully to a borrower’s loan modification application such that, upon a breach of this duty, the lender may be liable for the borrower’s pecuniary losses unaccompanied by property damage or personal injury. The Supreme Court held that there was no such duty, holding that neither Plaintiff’s assertion of a “special relationship” between himself and Wells Fargo nor his invocation of the factors articulated in Biakanja v. Irving, 49 Cal.2d 647 (1958), provided a compelling basis to recognize such a duty.
