Introduction
Dentons LLP has recently become embroiled in a coverage dispute
with its insurer over an approximate 1.7 million dollar loss after
falling victim to an email scam. Recent Ontario Superior Court
decision, Dentons Canada LLP v. Trisura Guarantee Insurance
Company1 tells the tale of how an email scam
induced the large multinational law firm into misdirecting
approximately $2.5 million dollars of a client's funds which
were held in trust.
The Facts
The series of events which perpetrated the firm's loss began
innocently enough:
An associate of Denton's Vancouver office was representing a
client in a real property matter. The mortgage for this property
was held by Timbercreek Mortgage Servicing Inc.
(“Timbercreek”). In order to discharge a portion of the
mortgage against the property, the firm was to transfer Timbercreek
$2,518,250 of the client's funds which were being held in the
firm's trust account.
