Sabatino v. Curtiss National Bank of Miami Springs

Decision Date03 September 1969
Docket NumberNo. 26367.,26367.
PartiesLouis A. SABATINO, as Ancillary Administrator of the Estate of Jose Juan D'Agostino, Deceased, Appellant, v. CURTISS NATIONAL BANK OF MIAMI SPRINGS, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Louis A. Sabatino, Miami, Fla., for appellant.

Herbert Stettin, Feibelman, Friedman, Hyman & Britton, Miami, Fla., for appellee.

Before THORNBERRY and AINSWORTH, Circuit Judges, and DAWKINS, District Judge.

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a Florida diversity action to recover $18,750 paid by the appellee bank out of a checking account belonging to Jose Juan D'Agostino, who is now deceased. Mr. D'Agostino's estate, the appellant here, alleges that the sum was wrongfully delivered to an unknown payee. The district court refused so to find, however, and rendered judgment for the bank. We remand the case for a new trial because of error in the exclusion of evidence.

The facts shown by the record are complex and inconclusive. The evidence seems to indicate that a check drawn on Mr. D'Agostino's account (but not written by him, appellant asserts) was presented at the bank on or about February 1, 1967, and was paid. A bank officer with considerable experience and training in handwriting identification testified that he compared the signature on the check with the decedent's signature card at the bank and that he was satisfied the signatures matched. Virtually nothing is known about the man who cashed the check except a general description and his stated intention to embark for South America.

Upon learning of the charge against his account, the decedent, who was a citizen and resident of Argentina, complained to the bank by letter. For some reason, this letter was never offered into evidence. When it appeared no satisfactory disposition of the matter was imminent, the decedent, who was ill at the time, dispatched two brothers to visit the bank personally. After the brothers' protest, when still no explanation appeared forthcoming from the bank except that a check had been presented against the account and that the bank had paid it, the testimony is unanimous that the brothers grew very excited. These facts, together with the decedent's filing of this suit before his death alleging wrongful payment of the funds, constitute virtually the only competent evidence received to show that the decedent did not write the check.

Normally, the bank's own procedures would have provided a way to verify the check, but in this case a number of unusual things happened to prevent verification. The check was properly recorded on the teller's adding machine tape, and his total for the day balanced. It was also properly doublechecked by the proof department. Somehow, however, the check was erroneously posted by the bookkeeping department, and this error necessitated additional handling. The next step after bookkeeping should have been microfilming. It had been the custom of the Curtiss National Bank for at least four years before this litigation to make a microfilm copy of every check that crossed its books, for its protection and the protection of its customers. In this case, however, although other checks paid that day appeared on the microfilm records in regular order, the check at issue here, for some mysterious reason, did not. The bank searched extensively and was unable to find a copy of it. Moreover, the bank usually kept a "high item list" upon which it entered all checks for over $5,000. The check should have appeared on this list, but no list was found for the day.

After microfilming, the check was supposed to go into storage to await the preparation of monthly statements. Finally, after the preparation of the decedent's monthly statement, the check should have been inserted by hand into an envelope for mailing with the statement. As the last step before mailing, it was customary procedure for an employee to count the checks sent with each statement to be sure that the number sent was the same as the number appearing on the statement. The check at issue here, however, is presently missing, and appellant claims it was never returned to the decedent. Without the check, or a copy of it, or the testimony of the decedent, appellant was hard put to make out a case. The trial court found that the decedent had written the check and that the bank had paid it properly.

This appeal raises three points, all of which the trial court resolved adversely to appellant. Appellant contends that the court erroneously excluded certain evidence he offered, that the bank's failure to microfilm the check or have a high item list should have been held negligence or breach of contract,1 and that the court's finding that the decedent wrote the check is clearly erroneous. Since we agree with appellant's first argument, and find the court's exclusion of evidence serious enough to necessitate a new trial, we do not reach appellant's other two issues.

One of the items that appellant sought to introduce into evidence was a small, blue-covered book in which the decedent recorded checks and reconciled his statements on this account. The book thus contained original journal entries, made by the decedent himself contemporaneously with the writing of checks and analysis of statements. As a foundation for offering this book, appellant introduced testimony of the decedent's brother, who knew the handwriting of the decedent well and had observed the decedent's use of the book on numerous occasions. This testimony was to the effect that whenever the decedent wrote a check on this account, he recorded it in the book; that he recorded only checks written on his Curtiss National Bank account; and that he reconciled his statements with the record he kept. Appellant sought to show by this book that the decedent had not recorded a $18,750 check and hence had probably not written one. Conceivably, the book could also have furnished some evidence that appellant did not receive any cancelled $18,750 check back from the bank. The trial judge, however, excluded the book because he found that it did not fit into the business records exception to the hearsay rule. His basis for this ruling, as he stated it, was primarily "the fact that the business record rule requires the testimony of someone who kept the books or had supervision over the books, at least had some general knowledge of the books. This is just a man whose brother kept books, and he saw him look at the book once in a while." We hold that this ruling was error and that it necessitates a new trial.

Rule 43(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., governs the admissibility of evidence in the federal courts. It states in part as follows:

All evidence shall be admitted which is admissible under the statutes of the United States, or under the rules of evidence heretofore applied in the courts of the United States on the hearing of suits in equity, or under the rules of evidence applied in the courts of general jurisdiction of the state in which the United States court is held. In any case, the statute or rule which favors the reception of the evidence governs and the evidence shall be presented according to the most convenient method prescribed in any of the statutes or rules to which reference is herein made.

Under this rule, there are three possible sources of authority for admissibility: federal statutes, decisions of the original federal courts sitting in equity, and state laws. When the checkbook was offered, and indeed throughout these proceedings, the parties argued this issue on the basis of Florida law; and the trial judge understandably made his exclusionary ruling accordingly. Rule 43, however, does not allow us to confine our attention to evidence admissible under any single source, but requires us to use the most liberal rule dealing with the subject offered. In this case, we reach our decision without considering Florida rules of evidence.2

We find that the evidence sought to be introduced here was admissible under the Federal Business Records Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1732 (1966), the pertinent parts of which are set out in the footnote below.3 The Act expressly provides that all circumstances, other than preparation in the regular course of business and within a reasonable time after the event, may affect the weight given the evidence, but do not affect its admissibility. The Act does not require that the foundation testimony come from the one who kept the books or had supervision over them.4 See, e. g., United States v. Grow, 4th Cir. 1968, 394 F.2d 182, 205; Bisno v. United States, 9th Cir. 1961, 299 F.2d 711, 718-719. All that must be established is that the record was kept in the regular course of business.

We think that a sufficient foundation was laid in this case. The check record kept by the decedent was used in his personal business, to be sure; but the indications are strong that the statute was nonetheless intended to include it. We begin consideration of this question with the proposition that federal law favors the admission of probative evidence. In fact, "the Federal Rules and practice favor admission of evidence rather than exclusion if the proffered evidence has any probative value at all." Aluminum Co. of America v. Sperry Prods. Inc., 6th Cir. 1960, 285 F.2d 911. Doubts "must be resolved in favor of admissibility." Erie R. Co. v. Lade, 6th Cir. 1954, 209 F.2d 948, 951. The federal courts have been particularly liberal in looking to the policies behind the hearsay rule before excluding hearsay evidence. There are two basic tests for all exceptions to the hearsay rule: (1) The evidence must be necessary to a proper consideration of the case and (2) it must exhibit an intrinsic probability of trustworthiness. See C. McCormick, Evidence § 281 (1954); 5 J. Wigmore, Evidence §§ 1421-22 (1940). This Court, in fact, has gone so far as to hold that evidence that meets these two tests ought to be admissible under the liberal federal...

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    • United States
    • Nebraska Supreme Court
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    ...in hearsay testimony can be obviated by requirement that such statements be trustworthy and necessary); Sabatino v. Curtiss National Bank of Miami Springs, 415 F.2d 632 (5th Cir.1969), cert. denied 396 U.S. 1057, 90 S.Ct. 750, 24 L.Ed.2d 752 (1970) (evidence must be necessary and exhibit in......
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6 books & journal articles
  • Hearsay
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Trial Evidence Foundations - 2015 Contents
    • July 31, 2015
    ...reliable and, therefore, admissible as hearsay exceptions under FED. R. EVID. 803(6). Sabatino v. Curtiss Nat’l Bank of Miami Springs , 415 F.2d 632 (5th Cir. 1969). A personal check record may be a business record pursuant to the hearsay exception. United States v. Bohrer , 807 F.2d 159 (1......
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    ...reliable and, therefore, admissible as hearsay exceptions under Fൾൽ. R. Eඏංൽ. 803(6). Sabatino v. Curtiss Nat’l Bank of Miami Springs , 415 F.2d 632 (5th Cir. 1969). A personal check record may be a business record pursuant to the hearsay exception. United States v. Bohrer , 807 F.2d 159 (1......
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    ...reliable and, therefore, admissible as hearsay exceptions under Fed. R. Evid. 803(6). Sabatino v. Curtiss Nat’l Bank of Miami Springs , 415 F.2d 632 (5th Cir. 1969). A personal check record may be a business record pursuant to the hearsay exception. United States v. Bohrer , 807 F.2d 159 (1......
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