- Category
- Defining Matters
- Date
- March 20, 2023
- Title
-
Fourth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Chain Bridge Bank, N.A.
On March 20, 2023, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, VA, unanimously affirmed the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of our client, Chain Bridge Bank, N.A. The plaintiff, Blue Flame Medical, sought damages of nearly $1 billion, alleging that our client had wrongfully reversed a wire transfer payment that was sent by the state of California to Blue Flame. Blue Flame had induced the payment by promising to procure for California 100 million N95 masks during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chain Bridge returned the money, rather than paying it to Blue Flame, after Chain Bridge’s due diligence turned up concerns about the legitimacy of Blue Flame’s business.
The district court dismissed some of the claims, at the outset, on preemption grounds. Then, after lengthy fact and expert discovery, the district court agreed with us that Blue Flame failed to present adequate evidence to support its claims. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in all respects.
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Gary A. Orseck
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Matthew M. Madden
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Zachary N. Ferguson
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