First American Bank, N.A. v. District of Columbia

A bank employee (First American Bank, plaintiff) repeatedly parked a bank vehicle illegally, ignoring tickets, until the city towed and impounded it despite his protests and attempts to remove dispatch bags of checks from the vehicle; one bag disappeared during the roughly 90 minutes the vehicle was impounded. First American sued the District of Columbia and the towing company (defendants) for breach of bailment and conversion. The trial court found both defendants were gratuitous bailees liable only for gross negligence, and the bank appealed.