C&N and Alabama Siding performed construction work at job sites throughout the southeastern United States. On Wednesday of each week, the foreman at each job site would telephone Bivens and give her the names of the employees working on the job and the number of hours they had worked. Bivens would then convey this information to Automatic Data Processing (ADP). Under a contract with C&N and Alabama Siding, ADP prepared payroll checks for the two companies. After preparing the payroll checks based on the information given to it by Bivens, ADP sent the checks to the offices of C&N and Alabama Siding for authorized signatures. Bivens was not an authorized signer. After the checks were signed, Bivens sent the checks to the job site foreman to deliver to the employees.

Bivens soon began conveying false information and hours worked. On the basis of this false information, ADP prepared payroll checks payable to persons who were actually employees but had not worked the hours Bivens had indicated. After obtaining authorized signatures, Bivens intercepted the checks, forged the indorsements of the payees, and either cashed them at Community Bancshares or deposited them into her checking account at Community, often presenting numerous checks at one time. Bivens continued this practice for over a year, forging more than 100 indorsements. The vice president of C&N discovered the embezzlement after noticing payroll checks payable to employees who had not recently performed services for the corporations. Bivens later admitted to forging the indorsements. C&N brought suit against the bank for paying on forged indorsements. Can C&N recover? [C&N Contractors, Inc. v Community Bancshares, Inc., 646 So2d 1357 (Ala)]