Discover Bank v. Dirienzo

Summary

The Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of Discover Bank in an action to recover a credit-card balance. The court held that Discover established a prima facie case through account statements, a cardmember agreement, and an affidavit authenticating business records, and that the unsigned agreement did not prevent enforcement based on use of the account and the account-stated doctrine. The court also held that the defendant failed to meet her reciprocal summary-judgment burden by submitting evidence showing a genuine issue of material fact or a defense.

Holdings

1. Discover met its initial burden by presenting an authenticated cardmember agreement, account statements showing purchases and payments, and an account balance representing an account stated.
2. An unsigned cardmember agreement does not preclude summary judgment where the account records and other evidence show use of the account and the agreement provides that use or failure to cancel constitutes acceptance.
3. Dirienzo failed to meet her reciprocal burden because she relied on allegations and arguments rather than affidavits or other evidence showing a genuine issue for trial.
4. An affiant authenticating business records under Evid.R. 803(6) need not have firsthand knowledge of the underlying transactions or of the exact circumstances in which the records were created.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment to Discover when the bank relied on an unsigned cardmember agreement, account statements, and circumstantial evidence of account use.
2. Whether Discover's affidavit and attached records established a prima facie case on the account and shifted the reciprocal summary-judgment burden to Dirienzo.
3. Whether Dirienzo's unsworn denials and arguments concerning authentication, hearsay, payment, accord and satisfaction, and standing established a genuine issue of material fact.

Disposition

affirmed