CLARENCE COOPER, District Judge
Plaintiff, a bank account holder, originally filed this action against Wachovia Bank, N.A. ("Wachovia") in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia on May 13, 2004, asserting claims for conversion and negligence due to Wachovia's payment of checks on Plaintiff's account without his authorization. Wachovia timely removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 on June 25, 2004. Wachovia now moves to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint on the ground that Plaintiff's claims are governed by Georgia's Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC"), and that his claims are barred by the UCC's three-year statutes of limitations. For the reasons that follow, this Court agrees.
Wachovia has moved for dismissal pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is appropriate where a plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Further, "[a] complaint is also subject to dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) when its allegations — on their face — show that an affirmative defense bars recovery on the claim." Marsh v. Butler County, Ala., 268 F.3d 1014, 1022 (11th Cir. 2001) ( en banc).
Under Article 3 of Georgia's UCC, which applies to negotiable instruments, "an action (i) for conversion of an instrument, for money had and received, or like action based on conversion . . . must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues." O.C.G.A. § 11-3-118(g). Similarly, under Article 4, which governs relationships between banks and their customers, "an action to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under this article must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues." O.C.G.A. § 11-4-111.
According to Plaintiff's Complaint, on May 10 and May 15, 2000, Wachovia paid two checks totaling $77,278.62 from funds in Plaintiff's account without his authorization. As stated above, Plaintiff did not file his Complaint until May of 2004, which is more than three years after his causes of action accrued. As such, Plaintiff's claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, and dismissal of his Complaint is warranted. Accordingly, Wachovia's Motion to Dismiss [3-1] is GRANTED, and this action is hereby DISMISSED.
In his response to Wachovia's motionto dismiss, Plaintiff acknowledges that he received regular statements from Wachovia but he did not open his statements until more than a year after the allegedly unauthorized checks had been paid. Under such circumstances, Plaintiff's claims are also barred by O.C.G.A. § 11-4-406(f), which provides:
Without regard to care orlack of care of either the customer or the bank, a customer who does not within 60 days after the statement or items are made available to the customer . . . discovery and report the customer's unauthorized signature on or any alteration on the face of the item or who does not within one year from that time discover and report any unauthorized indorsement oralternationonthe back of the item is precluded from asserting against the bank the unauthorized signature, indorsement, or alteration.
See also, Security State Bank v. Visiting Nurses Ass'n of Telfair County, Inc., 256 Ga. App. 374, 376, 568 S.E.2d 491 (2002).