Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Charleston Partner Eric Evans and Associate Delaney Tyson, together with Indianapolis Partners Finis Tatum IV and Thomas Kus and Senior Counsel Janet Thompson, achieved a significant victory defending a credit union in a putative class action brought in Howard Superior Court in Indiana.
The plaintiff alleged that the credit union breached its contracts by assessing multiple non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees when the same item was presented multiple times against insufficient funds, as well as by assessing overdraft (OD) fees when the account balance was allegedly sufficient to pay a transaction. Historically, no Indiana court has granted a motion to dismiss on similar allegations until now.
GRSM successfully moved to dismiss the claims, arguing that (1) the contracts plainly disclose that multiple NSF fees can be charged when the same item is presented multiple times against insufficient funds and (2) the plaintiff’s claims concerning the alleged OD fees were barred by the July 2024 amendment to Indiana Code § 34-11-2-9(c), which limits “[a]n action upon a deposit account” to a two-year statutory period, rather than the ten-year statutory period the plaintiff argued applied. The trial court agreed with GRSM’s arguments and dismissed the putative class action complaint with prejudice.
The plaintiff appealed the statute-of-limitations ruling, arguing that a ten-year limitations period should apply. Because the July 2024 amendments, addressing “deposit accounts,” were strongly advocated by the Indiana Credit Union League and the Indiana Bankers Associations, both organizations joined forces with GRSM in defending the victory on appeal. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument and upholding application of the two-year limitations period. The plaintiff then sought transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court. The Indiana Supreme Court denied the petition to transfer, leaving the appellate decision intact.
This matter demonstrates the strategic advantage of GRSM’s multi-state platform to leverage the collective experience of its attorneys and deliver sophisticated, seamless representation for clients facing complex litigation. By bringing together attorneys with complementary experience and knowledge across jurisdictions and practice areas, GRSM was able to provide its client with a coordinated and effective defense from the trial court through the appellate process.