On April 29, 2026, the Second Department issued a decision in Yong Xu v. 401 Foster Gasoline, Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op. 02692, holding that a defendant was liable for conversion for taking more than half the funds in a joint bank account, explaining:
To establish a cause of action to recover damages for conversion, a plaintiff must show legal ownership or an immediate superior right of possession to a specific identifiable thing and must show that the defendant exercised an unauthorized dominion over the thing in question to the exclusion of the plaintiff’s rights. Money, if specifically identifiable, may be the subject of a conversion action.
Contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, the facts warranted a judgment in Xu’s favor on the fifth cause of action, which sought to recover damages against Grace for converting funds in her and Xu’s joint bank account. A statutory presumption exists in this State that a disposition of personal property (including moneys in bank accounts) to two or more persons creates in them a tenancy in common. Where two people hold a joint bank account as a tenancy in common, each person has a one-half interest. The evidence at trial demonstrated that from October 2016 to November 2016, the joint bank account held $208,748.73 and that, within that same period, Grace withdrew or transferred $165,000 without Xu’s authorization. The plaintiffs therefore proved that Grace invaded Xu’s interest in the joint bank account by taking $60,625.63 more than her one-half share. Accordingly, the facts warranted a determination in favor of Xu and against Grace on the fifth cause of action in the sum of $60,625.63.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).