872                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 538

occurs through mistake liability is limited to actual damages proved.
If so proximately caused and proved damages may include damages
for an arrest or prosecution of the customer or other consequential
damages. Whether any consequential damages are proximately
caused by the wrongful dishonor is a question of fact to be deter-
mined in each case.

4—403. Customer's Right to Stop Payment; Burden of Proof of
Loss.

(1)  A customer may by order to his bank stop payment of any
item payable for his account but the order must be received at such
time and in such manner as to afford the bank a reasonable oppor-
tunity to act on it prior to any action by the bank with respect to
the item described in Section 4—303.

(2)  An oral order is binding upon the bank only for fourteen cal-
endar days unless confirmed in writing within that period. A written
order is effective for only six months unless renewed in writing.

(3)   The burden of establishing the fact and amount of loss result-
ing from the payment of an item contrary to a binding stop pay-
ment order is on the customer.

4—404. Bank Not Obligated to Pay Check More Than Six Months
old.

A bank is under no obligation to a customer having a checking
account to pay a check, other than a certified check, which is pre-
sented more than six months after its date, but it may charge its
customer's account for a payment made thereafter in good faith.

4—405. Death or Incompetence of Customer.

(1)  A pay or or collecting bank's authority to accept, pay or collect
an item or to account for proceeds of its collection if otherwise effec-
tive is not rendered ineffective by incompetence of a customer of
either bank existing at the time the item is issued or its collection
is undertaken if the bank does not know of an adjudication of in-
competence. Neither death nor incompetence of a customer revokes
such authority to accept, pay, collect or account until the bank knows
of the fact of death or of an adjudication of incompetence and has
reasonable opportunity to act on it.

(2)  Even with knowledge a bank may for ten days after the date
of death pay or certify checks drawn on or prior to that date unless
ordered to stop payment by a person claiming an interest in the
account.

4—406. Customer's Duty to Discover and Report Unauthorized
Signature or Alteration.

(1) When a bank sends to its customer a statement of account
accompanied by items paid in good faith in support of the debit
entries or holds the statement and items pursuant to a request or
instructions of its customer or otherwise in a reasonable manner
makes the statement and items available to the customer, the cus-
tomer must exercise reasonable care and promptness to examine the
statement and items to discover his unauthorized signature or any