Legal Question in Banking Law in New York

Confidential information

In early July I sent a check to a bank in NY (I am in CA) to open a savings acct. About 3 wks after I sent the check I called to ask if my check & request had been processed. They told me no check was recd & nothing was showing up in the system. Just as I was about to put a stop pmt on the check, I recv a letter in the mail from a man in Georgia who has the same exact name as me! The man mentioned that the bank sent my check to him. He in turn called the bank to confirm that he was the person that wrote the check & they confirmed it was him. The only info contained on the check is my name, address, & of course, bank acct no. The man in GA does not have my SS #, mother�s maiden name, place of birth, etc., security checks that should have been asked of him. He was also very descriptive in his letter (has names, phone #s, etc.) & sent my check back to the bank. I also called the bank & questioned them about what happened & their response: ''it was just a mistake.'' I requested the check be sent back to me. I'd like to know if I can sue the bank for poor banking practices, negligence & illegally disclosing confidential & personal information without proper notice and approvals. I could have easily been a victim of identity theft.


Asked on 9/05/06, 8:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
H.M. Torrey The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey

Re: Confidential information

In a nutshell, in order to file a negligence or "malpractice" type claim, an actual injury must have occurred, not just what could have been possible per se (barring any statutory exceptions or exemptions). Thus, unfortunately, since you did not suffer any injuries or damages as a result of the bank's negligence, you would not have legal standing to file a "negligence" based claim. However, we are happy nothing worse happened under the unfortunate set of circumstances.

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Answered on 9/05/06, 8:17 pm


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