Woman Blows $950k on Amex Card, Sues Company

[aleph_null1]

http://www.theregister.com/2004/11/26/woman_sues_amex/

A New York woman who ran up debts of $951,000 on her Amex account is sueing the company for $2m for allowing her to hammer the plastic, Newsday reports.

Antoinette Millard, 40, says American Express should have realised she was mentally incompetent when she opened the sky's-the-limit Centurion account. Her court filing states that American Express "knew or should have known that [Millard] was acting impulsively and and irrationally at the time she entered into contract". She cites anorexia, depression, panic attacks and "head tumors" as contributory factors to her mental incompetence.

American Express has obtained a court order freezing $951,000 in assets belonging to the former vice president at the Brown Brothers Harriman investment bank. To add to Millard's woes, she is currently on $100,000 bail awaiting trial on grand larceny charges after attempting to relieve an insurance company of $262,000 for jewellery she claims was stolen, but allegedly sold. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years' jail.

[Luvian]

I have no problem believing she is incompetent...

[Aerich]

Good thing she was looking after other peoples' money as an investment banker.

Nice lawsuit.

[Lucern]

Hmmm...why can't people like that come by my parents' shops? Er, before the whole freezing of assets thing [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Cerek]

This is unbelievable. So it is AMEX's fault that this woman has not self-control???

Well, heck - If I'd known you could sue the company for letting you use their credit card in the first place, we'd be having a LOT nicer Christmas this year.

I put this lady right up there with the people that sue McDonald's for their obesity. [img]graemlins/dontknowaboutyou.gif[/img]

[Timber Loftis]

I've found my retirement plan.

[Cloudbringer]

Gee, she's up on fraud charges AND now suing a credit card company for 'not knowing' she is incompetent at money management... yah... right! Takes all kinds, I guess...

I'm with you, Cerek... why didn't we all think of that?! LOL I want a credit card, please give it to me, see I qualify...well except that I'm a nutcase who will abuse it then sue you.. but hey.. we all gotta make a living somehow, right?!

[ 11-29-2004, 11:23 AM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Cerek]

My question is this - since she is publicly claiming to be mentally incompetent, doesn't that now give her bosses proper grounds to dismiss her?

And if they do fire her, I wonder if she will sue them? Seems she wouldn't have a leg to stand on since she has apparantly sworn in court that she is "mentally incompetent".

[Cloudbringer]

Who knows,maybe she's got a heavy gambling debt or something and is trying to get cash by defrauding insurance companies and suing credit cards. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Wonder if she's done this to any other financial institutions....it's odd that they say she is 'formerly' an employee of one!