Martin v. Fifth Third Bank, National Association

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant bank alleging negligence after she was defrauded by a third party who hacked into a legitimate email invoice and redirected plaintiff's funds to one of defendant’s bank accounts. Plaintiff argued in her lawsuit that the third party had repeatedly used the defendant’s bank accounts to defraud individuals and did not take any action to prevent future fraudulent schemes. The trial court dismissed the complaint against the defendant bank, finding that the bank did not owe plaintiff a duty of care because she was not a bank customer. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that the trial court erred when it denied plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint because it was possible that plaintiff could plead the existence of a duty sufficient for her negligence claim to survive a 2-615 motion to dismiss. (ELLIS and D.B. WALKER, concurring)