PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-1148

STUDCO BUILDING SYSTEMS US, LLC,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

1ST ADVANTAGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION,

Defendant - Appellant.

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THE CLEARING HOUSE ASSOCIATION, LLC; NACHA; THE VIRGINIA CREDIT UNION LEAGUE; THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FEDERALLY-INSURED CREDIT UNIONS; THE CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

Amici Supporting Appellant.

No. 23-1766

STUDCO BUILDING SYSTEMS US, LLC,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

1ST ADVANTAGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION,

Defendant - Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 23-1766 Doc: 49 Filed: 03/26/2025 Pg: 2 of 26

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THE CLEARING HOUSE ASSOCIATION, LLC; NACHA; THE VIRGINIA CREDIT UNION LEAGUE; THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FEDERALLY-INSURED CREDIT UNIONS; THE CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

Amici Supporting Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Raymond A. Jackson, Senior District Judge. (2:20-cv-00417-RAJ-LRL)

Argued: December 12, 2024 Decided: March 26, 2025

Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

No. 23-1148, reversed and remanded with instructions; No. 23-1766, affirmed by published opinion. Judge Niemeyer wrote the opinion, in which Judge Wilkinson concurred. Judge Wynn wrote an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.

ARGUED: John Michael Bredehoft, KAUFMAN & CANOLES, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Chirag Haresh Patel, CLARK HILL PLC, Chicago, Illinois, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. ON BRIEF: Adam B. Pratt, KAUFMAN & CANOLES, P.C., Williamsburg, Virginia, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Myriah V. Jaworski, CLARK HILL PLC, Buffalo, New York, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. Noah Levine, Alan Schoenfeld, Marissa M. Wenzel, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, New York, New York, for Amici The Clearing House Association L.L.C. and Nacha. Trevor S. Cox, Johnathon E. Schronce, J. Pierce Lamberson, HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP, Richmond, Virginia, for Amici The Virginia Credit Union League, The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and the Credit Union National Association.

2 USCA4 Appeal: 23-1766 Doc: 49 Filed: 03/26/2025 Pg: 3 of 26

NIEMEYER, Circuit Judge:

The ACH (Automated Clearing House) system, in which virtually every U.S. bank

participates, functions electronically and automatically, processing over 33 billion transfers

of funds among financial institutions each year, involving over $86 trillion. It is essential

to the strength and efficiency of national commerce, for if those transfers were conducted

manually, commerce would virtually grind to a halt.

Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code defines the exclusive rights and duties

of financial institutions with respect to such funds transfers. In this appeal, we apply those

principles to resolve the parties’ rights and duties where payment orders for the transfers

of funds misdescribed the account into which