AT&T says it didn't mean to send $200,000 to a Lawrence company, and now the corporation wants the money back.
The check was in the mail. Now it's in the courts.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. says that in July 1998 it erroneously sent a check for $201,184.68 to Lawrence-based Cellular Page Inc. Now AT&T contends it only owed $360, and it wants the rest of its money back.
Forget it, Cellular Page says.
So the telecommunications giant filed suit earlier this month in Douglas County District Court to get the balance of $200,824.68.
"I'd want it back too, but I wouldn't have been dumb enough to send it in the first place," said Joseph Desch, a Topeka attorney representing Cellular Page.
Besides, Desch said, Cellular Page owner Lane Slaten called AT&T several times to verify that the funds were intended for his company.
"At the time, he called whoever sent him the check and said, 'Is this my check? Did I receive this check rightfully?' and he was told 'Yes. This check is supposed to be for you.'" Desch said Thursday. "He had every reason to believe the money was his."
Slaten could not be reached for comment.
Lynn S. McCreary, an Overland Park attorney who filed the petition on behalf of AT&T, said she couldn't respond to questions about the lawsuit, because it was still active.
The lawsuit claims AT&T Wireless Services "has repeatedly notified Cellular Page of the amount issued in overpayment and demanded reimbursement," but that the Lawrence company "has refused to return the overpayment or reimburse" AT&T for the overpaid amount.
Desch said Slaten believed the check was in response to a class-action lawsuit settlement. He added that allegations about the check being written in error were "absolutely false."
"They're covering their tracks, trying to make it look like a typo on the check," he said.
Cellular Page has not spent the money, Desch said, and it's up to the courts to decide the rightful owner.
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
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