C. Lui

The plaintiff insurer brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendants for fraud and conspiracy arising from a staged motor vehicle accident claim.

The uncontradicted evidence established that two of the defendants orchestrated a scheme to falsely report the driver's identity and submit fraudulent accident benefits and tort claims.

The court granted summary judgment against those two defendants for the amounts paid out by the insurer, but dismissed the motion against the son, finding insufficient evidence of his participation in the fraud.

The court declined to award punitive damages, finding the compensatory damages and prior costs orders sufficient for deterrence.

The plaintiff bank brought a motion for partial summary judgment seeking a declaration that losses it sustained due to an employee's participation in a Ponzi scheme constituted a 'direct financial loss' under its fidelity bond.

The bank had settled multiple third-party claims after victims transferred funds to the bank based on fraudulent representations by the bank's employee.

The court held that the bank received the funds subject to a constructive trust, and suffered a direct financial loss when those funds were credited to unrestricted accounts controlled by the fraudster.

The court found this narrow issue of policy interpretation appropriate for partial summary judgment and granted the declaration.