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PNC to Appeal $391M Verdict

By Gerry W. Beyer

PNC BankPNC Financial Services Group Inc. intends to appeal an order to pay $390.5 million in damages from the alleged National Prearranged Services Inc. insurance scheme for prepaid funeral services.  “PNC respectfully disagrees with the jury regarding the liability of its predecessor bank, Allegiant, and we intend to appeal this verdict,” said Fred Solomon, PNC senior vice president.

On Monday, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis said PNC must pay $355 million in compensatory damages and $35.5 million in punitive damages. According to the lawsuit, funeral homes and consumers were led to believe the funds entrusted to NPS, a St.Louis-based company that sold prepaid funerals, would be safeguarded in a trust and backed by life insurance policies. However, the defendants allegedly siphoned off money from the funds.

See Patty Tascarella, PNC to Appeal $390.5 Million Order for Trustee Role in Prepaid Funeral Scam, St. Louis Business Journal, March 11, 2015.

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Death Event Planning, Estate Planning - Generally, New Cases and Trusts