Murray v. Bank of America Book Reviews

Murray v. Bank of America by South Carolina Court of Appeals Book Summary

Submitted February 10, 2003 AFFIRMED Margaret Murray sued Bank of America, formerly known as NationsBank, (Bank) alleging it was negligent when it allowed an imposter to open an account in her name.Á The jury awarded Murray $300,000 in actual damages.Á The Bank appeals.Á We affirm.Á FACTS Margaret Murray lost her driver's license in May 1997.Á On May 14, 1997, a woman opened an account with the Bank in Murray's name.Á The imposter presented Murray's driver's license and a social security card to the Bank employee and deposited $100.00 in the account.Á The employee contacted Check Systems, which is a company that verifies credit, to determine if Murray had any prior check writing problems.Á Check Systems did not reveal any detrimental information about Murray.Á The imposter wrote sixty fraudulent checks from the account totaling approximately $7,500.Á Murray had never had a checking account with the Bank or any other bank.Á Murray did not become aware of the account opened in her name until employees of Thermax Carpet Cleaning came to her apartment and asked for her to return a rented carpet cleaner.Á When Murray went to Thermax, the manager established that she was not the one who rented the cleaner.Á The manager told Murray that the cleaner had been rented by someone writing a check in her name with the account at the Bank.Á On June 2, 1997, Murray went to the Bank and discovered an imposter had opened the account in her name using her driver's license.Á Murray demanded the Bank close the account.Á She also requested the Bank inform the merchants who submitted the checks that were returned for insufficient funds that she was innocent and that this was a fraudulent account.Á She testified that she trusted the Bank to take the requested actions.Á The Bank, however, failed to close the account until June 30, 1997.Á Murray also reported the fraudulent account to the police.Á In November 1997, Murray was arrested in front of her son, and served with warrants for fifteen fraudulent checks.Á Murray spent twelve hours in jail.Á After Murray was arrested, she obtained a letter from the Bank stating she was not the one who opened the account.Á Murray went to the post office box the imposter provided the bank and found forty-four letters merchants had written her about the bad checks.Á Murray was required to appear at three criminal court hearings.Á Although she was exonerated of the criminal charges she faced, Murray continued to worry about the existence of other unresolved checks.Á She suffered from stress and anxiety from the incident and had difficulty sleeping.Á Her face tightened and became numb.Á She sought medical treatment from the local hospital.Á Murray was embarrassed by being arrested in front of her son and her neighbors and felt she had to move into another apartment, which was more expensive than the one she had lived in before.Á Murray sued the Bank in negligence.Á The Bank moved for directed verdict at the close of Murray's case asserting the Bank did not owe any duty of care to Murray.Á The trial court denied the motion.Á The jury found for Murray and awarded her $300,000 in damages.Á The trial court denied the Bank's post trial motions.Á The Bank appealed. LAW/ANALYSIS

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