Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) has been ordered by the High Court to pay a former real estate agent more than $50,000 in personal damages for defamation arising from a banking error.
In December 1997, Westpac mistakenly dishonoured 30 cheques drawn by the Homewise real estate agency, located in Auburn west of Sydney.
The cheques were returned to the clients of Paul Aktas who was the sole shareholder of Homewise and were stamped with "refer to drawer", inferring there were insufficient funds to meet the payment.
Mr Aktas claimed the incident damaged his reputation among clients and business.
Westpac posted a $3.4 billion net profit in the year to 30 September 2009.
WBC Price at posting:
$23.85 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
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