PNC Bank has been hit with $15 million of punitive damages because Allegiant Bank did not know its client.

Before opening a fiduciary account, banks are required to perform due diligence on the trust’s grantor and on the trust’s purposes.   Such due diligence is referred to as ‘know your client’ or “KYC”.  KYC requirements had

National Prearranged Services is back in the news after a trial court issued a new $102 million judgment against PNC Bank (the corporate successor of Allegiant Bank).  Allegiant Bank served as NPS’ Missouri preneed trustee for six years beginning in 1998.  When PNC Bank agreed to purchase Allegiant in 2004, PNC performed due diligence that

The Special Deputy Receiver over National Prearranged Services recently filed an application to assign a significant portion of the NPS preneed contracts to Liberty Bankers Life Insurance, and a subsidiary, Capitol Life Insurance Company.  If approved by the court, the NPS contracts will transfer on November 1st.  Preneed contracts sold in Missouri and

It has been almost 2 years to the date when a $391 million dollar judgment was entered against PNC Bank, as the successor to Allegiant Bank.   Allegiant Bank was one of the last trustees to administer National Prearranged Services’ preneed trusts in Missouri.  PNC Bank appealed that judgment, and a decision is expected any day

The Special Deputy Receiver for National Prearranged Services recently filed a Bill of Costs with the Federal trial court.  The Bill of Costs seeks to recover copy charges of more than $500,000 from a former NPS trustee.  Those costs do not include attorneys’ fees.  Litigation can be very costly.

Missouri’s preneed regulators are keenly aware

When NPS first collapsed, the estimate of the company’s liabilities to funeral homes was reported to have been as much as a billion dollars.  When the SDR finally brought the case to trial, the damages awarded by the jury were less than half of the original estimate.   While this author believes the actual damages are