Bank Said $280,000 Deposit was Valid, But Now Wants It Back
When $280,000 was mistakenly deposited in October into the bank account of a retired couple in midstate Pennsylvania, they did the right thing, according to their lawyer, and notified the bank.
But when First Commonwealth Bank representatives repeatedly assured them that the deposit was correct, they did the natural thing and and spent much of the money, says attorney Thomas Dickey. Eventually realizing its error, the bank contacted the couple in February and has since sued to try to get the money back. Now, however, Herbert and Becky Starbird don’t have all of it, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The parties have been negotiating and the Starbirds, who live in Altoona, are willing to take out a mortgage to repay the money, Dickey says. Meanwhile, issues about interest and attorney fees remain unresolved. If worst comes to worse, it might be worthwhile to go to trial, he tells the newspaper, even though people ordinarily can’t keep money deposited by mistake into their bank accounts.
“Believe me, this is no slam dunk. … Who knows what a jury might do?” Dickey says.
For those interested in the results of an informal potential juror survey on the issue, the Inquirer is polling readers to see what they think the couple should do. So far, 44 percent say the Starbirds should go to trial and take their chances with the jury, and the rest are evenly divided between paying it all back and repaying all of it except for interest, once attorney fees are deducted.
