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Commercial Law Keyed to Whaley
Maplewood Bank & Trust v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Citation:
625 A.2d 537 (1993)Facts
Between December 1989 and March 1990, Sears accepted six checks totaling $1,979.75 from an individual named Dwayne Johnson. These checks were drawn on Maplewood Bank accounts and made payable to “Sears Roebuck,” but Johnson was not authorized to endorse them. Sears accepted these checks without verifying Johnson’s identity or his authority to cash checks payable to Sears. Maplewood Bank paid these checks despite the forged endorsements. When the forgeries were discovered, Maplewood Bank credited its customers’ accounts and sought to recover the amounts from Sears, arguing that Sears had converted the checks by accepting them with forged endorsements.
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