A bank is being sued for allegedly writing a beneficiary check to a man who has been missing and is presumed dead.
The lawsuit was filed in the Madison County Circuit Court by Bonnie Talbott, both individually and as the Independent Administrator of the Estate of Edward Maedge, against defendant is U.S. Bank, a National Banking Association.
The plaintiff alleges that upon the death of Edward Maedge, the bank failed to adhere to his wishes and end-of-life requests regarding the distribution of his funds.
According to the complaint, Edward Maedge had an agreement with U.S. Bank that his funds would be paid out to living beneficiaries upon his death. However, when beneficiary Marilyn Toliver went to request "pay-on-death" beneficiary checks for the account in question, a check was issued for Richard Maedge, who was missing for months and presumed deceased at that time.
The plaintiff alleges the bank breached the agreement with Edward Maedge and resulted in a direct loss for her as she was deprived of at least 50% of the "pay-on-death" funds allocated to Richard Maedge.
The plaintiff is seeking judgment in her favor in an amount exceeding $50,000 but no more than $75,000. She is represented by attorneys Brian M. Wendler and Angie M. Zinzilieta of Wendler & Zinzilieta PC in Maryville.