In re Burrier
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado
399 B.R. 258 (2008)
Brandon and Denon Burrier (plaintiffs/debtors), whose loan had been transferred to Wells Fargo (creditor), stipulated during their Chapter 13 case that Wells Fargo would credit disputed payments if the Burriers produced the cancelled checks proving payment. But Wells Fargo processed customer checks via check truncation under the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, converting them to electronic images and never returning the originals — meaning the Burriers could never produce what the stipulation demanded. At a hearing, the Burriers instead offered bank statements and carbon copies of the checks as proof of payment.
Whether, under the doctrine of impossibility of performance, consumers are excused from producing actual checks tendered to a bank when those checks were electronically processed under the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act.