But because the widow could not prove a negative<\/strong> (specifically, because she could not prove that Wells Fargo Bank had not already paid out on the certificate of deposit), she lost at the trial court and on appeal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a bitter pill, and a strange decision.\u00a0 Here are the facts and the holding. Sounds like great facts.\u00a0 \u201cHideo died in November 1991 . . . In April 2002, Wells Fargo opened the safe deposit box because the rental fee had not been paid and the box was presumed abandoned.\u00a0 It found the certificate of deposit and in June 2006 sent it to the California Controller’s Office as unclaimed property.\u201d<\/p>\n Still going strong.\u00a0 \u201cIn August 2007, Kuniko received a letter from the controller’s office informing her that it was holding the contents of a safe deposit box from Wells Fargo. The controller sent her the contents of the box, which included the receipt for the certificate of deposit. This was the first time that she learned of the existence of the certificate of deposit or of the savings account . . . Kuniko sued Wells Fargo, claiming that it failed to pay her the money in the accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n What more do you need?\u00a0 A lot, according to the court.\u00a0 \u201cThe court granted summary judgment in favor of the bank, finding that despite the absence of definitive records, Wells Fargo had presented sufficient evidence of its normal business practices to establish that no funds remained in either account.\u201d<\/p>\n Are you wondering what went wrong?\u00a0 You should be.\u00a0\u00a0 Here\u2019s how Wells Fargo got away scot-free.\u00a0 \u201cWells Fargo has no records indicating that any funds from the CD account or the savings account were ever transferred to the State Controller’s Office as unclaimed property.\u00a0 If any unclaimed funds remained in either of these accounts, those funds would have been escheated to the State Controller’s Office and Wells Fargo would have records of that fact.\u201d<\/p>\n OK, so the bank did not pay out the funds to the state as unclaimed property.\u00a0 What happened to the million dollars, which was payable to the widow?\u00a0 \u201cWells Fargo [determined] that neither account was open, and that no records existed which would show when those accounts had been closed or how much money had been in the account when they were open.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOn June 22, 1988, Hideo purchased a certificate of deposit from Wells Fargo in the amount of $976,691.60, payable to his wife Kuniko.\u00a0 Interest from the certificate was to be placed in a savings account held in Kuniko’s name.\u00a0 Hideo apparently placed a receipt from the bank for the certificate of deposit account in a safe deposit box at the bank which was also in Kuniko’s name.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Reunification](\"http:\/\/www.krbecheklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Reunification-Express.jpg\" "\\"Fresno")
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