2 total
Banks were liable for conversion despite employee cheque fraud.
A Teva employee fraudulently requisitioned and deposited 63 cheques into accounts under names matching or resembling real customers.
The majority held the collecting banks were liable in conversion because the payees were neither fictitious nor non-existing under s. 20(5) of the Bills of Exchange Act.
The Court restored the motions judge’s decision and rejected the banks’ false-payee defence.
Application to terminate pension trust fund dismissed as participants may still be entitled to shortfall payments.
The applicant company sought an order to terminate a supplementary retirement plan trust fund and have the remaining assets distributed to it.
The trust fund was established to ensure employees transferred from a predecessor company would not be adversely affected regarding their pension entitlements.
The trustee refused to consent to the termination, citing a lack of evidence that the participants had received their full entitlements.
The court dismissed the company's application, finding that at least one participant had demonstrated a shortfall, and directed the trustee to obtain actuarial calculations for other participants before any remaining balance could be returned to the company.
