A Black man trying to open two business amounts at the bank he had already been banking with in Missouri ended up falsely accused of fraud and having the cops called on him — the latest example of “banking while Black.”
Now Michael Waller, 64, is suing Commerce Bank, accusing the bank of racism and retaliation based on the color of his skin.
According to the lawsuit filed last month, Waller entered a Commerce Bank branch in Overland Park, a municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area, on June 20, 2023, to open the two business accounts but was told by a white bank employee he needed more paperwork.
Waller returned the following day with more paperwork, but the same bank employee again told him he needed more paperwork, so he returned again on June 27 with the additional paperwork.
But the same white bank employee still refused to open his accounts, demanding to know why he did not choose a Commerce Bank branch closer to his home.
“No. You cannot. You cannot open an account here,” the bank employee also said.
“Why?” Waller demanded. “Are you prejudiced?”
The white employee then reported Waller to the bank’s fraud investigative department and called police, who pulled up to the scene as Waller was leaving, making him fear for his life.
Fortunately, the cops did not seem to escalate the situation, allowing Waller to drive to another Commerce Bank branch in Kansas City, where he again tried to open his business accounts but was once again refused, with the branch manager telling him he was under investigation for fraud.
Waller closed his personal account at Commerce Bank the following month and was able to open his business accounts at another bank, the lawsuit states.
Perhaps the initial missing paperwork was that Waller did not register his businesses with the state until June 27, 2023, but that was also the same day he had the cops call on him on false accusations of fraud.
The registered businesses are listed in court records as Michael’s Gifts For You LLC and Waller’s Lawn Care Service LLC. Documents pertaining to the businesses were stamped and dated by the Missouri’s Secretary of State Office that same day.
But Overland Park, the municipality that not only refused him service but called the cops on him, is a municipality where less than 5 percent of its population is Black, while Kansas City, which is where Waller lives, is more than 25 percent Black.
“Couldn’t you have opened an amount closer to where you live?” the white bank employee asked him, according to the lawsuit.
Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are Mary “Jo” Burdette, the manager of the second branch who prohibited him from opening an account, as well as Ann Bronson, who works for the bank’s complaint department but did nothing to follow up on Waller’s complaint, the lawsuit states.
“Defendants treated Plaintiff differently, and more negatively than others because of his race,” the claim states.
The lawsuit also states that Waller suffered damages including “mental anguish, emotional distress, pain and suffering, mental distress, embarrassment, degradation, humiliation, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life” as well as “lost business income and profits.”
The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Court in Missouri on Nov. 18 by attorney Katherine Myers of the Edelman, Liesen, & Myers law firm in Kansas City.
On Nov. 30, an attorney for Commerce Bank, William Joseph Harley, filed an application to change the judge without explaining why.
The judge currently assigned to the case is Circuit Court Judge Charles H. “Chip” McKenzie.
“The conduct of Defendants was outrageous and evidenced an evil motive and/or conscious disregard for the rights of Plaintiff and others, entitling Plaintiff to an award of punitive damages,” the lawsuit states.
