Solidbank Corporation/Metropolitan Bank v. Spouses Peter

Summary

This case involves the liability of Solidbank Corporation for a missing P250,000 check deposited by the Tan spouses. The check was fraudulently deposited elsewhere by a third party despite being included in the customers' deposit. The bank claimed it never received the check and presented a suspicious deposit slip with different handwriting and teller markings. All three court levels found the bank liable, applying Civil Code provisions on negligence and holding banks to extraordinary diligence standards similar to common carriers due to the public interest nature of banking. The Supreme Court affirmed the award of actual damages, moral damages, exemplary damages, and attorney's fees, emphasizing that banks must exercise the highest degree of care in handling client deposits and that suppression of evidence creates adverse presumptions.