SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Court proceedings begin today against $1 billion Arrowhead Credit Union, after a prominent local pastor filed a lawsuit stemming from an incident in which he was mistakenly arrested for check fraud.
According to San Bernardino County Superior Court records, Arrowhead's legal representatives were scheduled to appear this morning before Judge John P. Wade, and had indicated they would file a motion to strike portions of the civil complaint, as well as file a demurrer motion, which contests the legal sufficiency of the complaint.
Pastor Terry Elliott, who heads the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of San Bernardino, was arrested Dec. 20, 2007 in a Stater Bros. grocery store after his rejected ATM card alerted Arrowhead's loss prevention department.
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According to a story published in the San Bernardino Sun, the credit union mistakenly concluded that Elliott had deposited a stolen $6,700 check into his account, and Arrowhead employees working at the in-grocery branch kept Elliott on site until police arrived.
Elliott was released from jail when police realized the stolen check in question was not related to his account. His lawsuit seeks monetary damages for false imprisonment, negligence, defamation and infliction of emotional distress.
Calls to Arrowhead seeking comment have not yet been returned.
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