RChavez, the bank may try to weasel out of it, but the liability for accepting a check with a forged signature was 100% on the bank under the law, at least back when I took a few law classes. Maybe someone better informed has an update?

That doesn't mean the bank won't try to beat you down on this; no one pretends crookedness is merely incompetence better than a bank -- unless it's a car rental company.