Do I have any legal recourse if an employee intentionally accepted a mistaken double payment??
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Do I have any legal recourse if an employee intentionally accepted a mistaken double payment??
I am a small business owner. I recently wrote a check to one of my employees for labor, and because a vendor did not pay me, there was not enough money in the account to cover the check and it was returned unpaid. As soon as I realized, I contacted the employee, deposited cash to cover the check and re-issued a 2nd check to him. Days later I saw both the first and the 2nd check had cleared my account. It turns out the employee had gone to a check cashing store the 1st time, and, in fact, had the cash when I wrote him the 2nd check. He cashed the 2nd check at my bank and the check cashing store resubmitted the 1st check for payment. This employee accepted the 2nd check knowing he’d already been paid.
Asked on June 1, 2013 under Business Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the employee for fraud. Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity and with the intent to induce your reliance upon which you justifiabily relied to your detriment. In other words, the employee committed fraud by intentionally obtaining the double payment and making the false representation to you in order to obtain the second check.
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the amount wrongfully obtained by the employee.
Depending on the amount involved, you may be able to file your lawsuit in Small Claims Court. Your damages should also include the court filing fee and process server fee. After obtaining a court judgment against the employee, you might also consider pursuing a wage garnishment if the employee does not pay.
In addition to the case for fraud discussed above, you might want to consider firing the employee.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.