Court Rules Against Bank In Attempt To Make Closing Attorney Pay For Fraud Committed By Woman Borrowing $180K Secured By Home Belonging To Another

In Wellington, New Zealand, The National Business Review reports:

• Westpac Bank has failed to persuade the Supreme Court to reverse a decision in lower courts that a solicitor should be liable for a mortgage fraud which cost it $180,000. The Supreme Court today dismissed an appeal by Westpac and ordered it to pay solicitor Alan John Clark $15,000 costs, plus "reasonable disbursements."

• Associate Judge Anthony Christiansen, in the High Court, rejected a Westpac bid for summary judgment against Mr Clark, and said he considered Westpac's loss may have been a result of "slack lending practices". His decision was upheld by the Appeal Court, and Westpac took its case to the Supreme Court, where it also lost.

• The bank was caught out by a "clever imposter" who impersonated Marie Antoinette Fenech, and used a false passport to obtain a $180,400 mortgage on her Remuera house. The same conwoman apparently used similar tactics at three other banks and three other lawyers.

For more, see Westpac fails in bid to recover cash from fraud. DeedContraTheft