Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Wells Fargo Bank v. BCBU (Cal. Ct. App. - Oct. 27, 2006)

Faculty meetings are amongst the worst part of this job. And today's rare mid-week faculty meeting has put me in an exhausted, sleep-deprived funk.

So I thought I'd harken back to this case. Which just proves that -- as in faculty meetings -- sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut. Lest you be proven to be even more of a fool than everyone already thinks you are.

Here's the entirety of the amendment that Justice Bedsworth adds to his opinion. Undoubtedly to the chagrin of attorney Kevin Monson -- a double BYU graduate (with a prior public reproval) -- who filed the petition for rehearing and who likely wishes that he hadn't:

"In a late petition for rehearing, B.C.B.U. raises a new argument, that section 9403 does not apply because it became operative on July 1, 2001, after the December 2000 assignment to Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, like the petition for rehearing which raised it for the first time, it comes too late (the petition for rehearing was 7 days late). An argument may not be raised for the first time in a petition for rehearing. (See, e.g., Reynolds v. Bement (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1075, 1092.) Moreover, section 9403 is based on former section 9206 (set out in footnote 6 above), and the former rule was the same as the present one, that is, a waiver of defenses against an assignee is enforceable save for defenses good against a holder in due course.”

Short, sweet, and to the point. And harsh, but in a nice(ish) way.