People v. North

Opinion

ROTH, P. J.

On February 26, 1979, appellant opened a checking account at a branch of Security Pacific National Bank with a deposit of $150. Another deposit of $1,000 was made the following March 20. The account was then inactive until the latter part of May the same year, though at some time during the period appellant applied for and was granted a check guarantee card and a line of credit in the amount of $1,000. That line of credit gave appellant overdraft protection and the right to use bank credit cards up to a limit of the specified amount over the balance in his account. Charges or checks for more than the $1,000 credit line were outside the credit agreement.

Appellant’s check guarantee card notified merchants that the bank would pay any of his checks up to the amount of $100 so long as the card number was written on the back of the check, even though there might not be enough money on deposit or remaining as unused credit to provide coverage.

The card did not extend limitless credit to appellant, however, and the bank could invalidate it by placing its number on a warning bulletin to merchants and asking that it be picked up, after which the bank was not obliged to accept checks drawn on the account. Between May 25 and June 26, 1979, one deposit of $857.64 was made to appellant’s ac

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count and two checks, one for $190 and one for $3, were drawn on it, such that the ending balance for that period was $1,999. Between June 26 and July 27, 1979, one other check for $1,700 reduced the balance to $298.07. There was no activity in the account between July 27 and August 27, 1979.

Two checks drawn on a Cleveland bank were deposited in appellant’s account on September 14, 1979. One check was for $4,000; the other for $4,500.

During the period between August 27 and September 19, 1979, 76 checks totaling $7,436.13 were drawn on appellant’s account, 73 of which were for $100 each. The ending balance on September 19, 1979, was then shown to be $1,461.09.

The unusual activity in checks caused the bank to order a special statement on September 19, 1979, and to try, unsuccessfully, to retrieve appellant’s check guarantee card even though he apparently had a positive balance in his account. To this end, the bank wrote a letter to appellant on September 19, 1979, stating that it was terminating appellant’s ready reserve account, bank credit cards, and check guarantee card. It did not, however, put appellant’s check guarantee card on a warning bulletin because appellant did not appear to be overdrawn.