What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
Last month I was in a small car accident that was the fault of the other driver. I was sent a check for $1410 for damages by the large insurance company of the other driver. The check they sent me had not arrived after a couple of weeks, so after contacting the insurance company, they said they were putting a stop payment on the check and mailed me a replacement.
Fast forward to last Friday. When I walked through the kitchen, there was a check from the insurance company on the table. It was drawn on Wells Fargo. I took it to Wells Fargo (they are actually closer than my bank) and cashed it with no problems. That night, my wife informed me that she had already cashed the check from the insurance company and the check I found had been laid out for me to shred. After checking postmarks on both envelopes, we confirmed that what I cashed was the original check that was supposed to have a stop-payment. The replacement check was deposited three weeks ago and according to our bank, funds have cleared from the other bank.
I spoke with a friend who works for WF and he said that if I cashed a check drawn on WF at a WF branch that had a stop-payment on it, they would not have cashed it. I have the money set aside in my savings account until I know what to do with it and who it goes to. My main question is this - is there any legal recourse against me because of this situation by either the insurance company or the bank? If WF cashed a check that had a stop-payment on it from one of its customers, where does liability fall? If there was an oversight and the insurance company failed to make the stop-payment on the original check, do they have recourse against me? If WF mistakenly cashed a check with a stop-payment that had been issued four weeks prior, do they have recourse against me?
I am going to return the money to the rightful owner. At this time, I'm just not sure if it is due to the insurance company or the bank. But my main concern with this post is the legal ramifications of what happened. What do I need to be concerned about that could be done against me as a result of this mistake? Where do I stand in terms of liability? Thanks in advance.
Last month I was in a small car accident that was the fault of the other driver. I was sent a check for $1410 for damages by the large insurance company of the other driver. The check they sent me had not arrived after a couple of weeks, so after contacting the insurance company, they said they were putting a stop payment on the check and mailed me a replacement.
Fast forward to last Friday. When I walked through the kitchen, there was a check from the insurance company on the table. It was drawn on Wells Fargo. I took it to Wells Fargo (they are actually closer than my bank) and cashed it with no problems. That night, my wife informed me that she had already cashed the check from the insurance company and the check I found had been laid out for me to shred. After checking postmarks on both envelopes, we confirmed that what I cashed was the original check that was supposed to have a stop-payment. The replacement check was deposited three weeks ago and according to our bank, funds have cleared from the other bank.
I spoke with a friend who works for WF and he said that if I cashed a check drawn on WF at a WF branch that had a stop-payment on it, they would not have cashed it. I have the money set aside in my savings account until I know what to do with it and who it goes to. My main question is this - is there any legal recourse against me because of this situation by either the insurance company or the bank? If WF cashed a check that had a stop-payment on it from one of its customers, where does liability fall? If there was an oversight and the insurance company failed to make the stop-payment on the original check, do they have recourse against me? If WF mistakenly cashed a check with a stop-payment that had been issued four weeks prior, do they have recourse against me?
I am going to return the money to the rightful owner. At this time, I'm just not sure if it is due to the insurance company or the bank. But my main concern with this post is the legal ramifications of what happened. What do I need to be concerned about that could be done against me as a result of this mistake? Where do I stand in terms of liability? Thanks in advance.
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