LXP Partner Conducts Training at JP Morgan
April 2011
Simone Fitzcharles, Litigation Practice Group Partner, has now kicked off her current season on the speaking circuit by conducting a training session at the office of J.P. Morgan Trust (Bahamas) Limited on Friday 15th April 2011. The audience was comprised of executives and staff of J.P. Morgan in The Bahamas, as well as its Geneva Office via teleconference.
Pictured from Left to Right: Desiree Terrell-Davis (JP
Morgan), Selwyn Richardson (JP Morgan), Simone Fitzcharles (Lennox
Paton), Jackie Rolle (JP Morgan).
Simone was invited by J.P. Morgan to speak on the topic of mental
incapacity of clients. She therefore delivered a presentation
entitled, "Mental Incapacity, Fraud and Undue Influence: To Pay or
Not To Pay?" in which she explored the issue of a banker's duties
when his customer has given instructions but the banker has been
put on notice that the customer may be suffering from some form of
mental deficiency and may be a victim of fraud or undue
influence.
In a discussion that was very well received by the trust company,
Simone apprised the listeners of the law as it relates to mental
incapacity, fraud and undue influence. She prefaced the talk
by stating the bank's primary duty to comply with its client's
instructions pursuant to the mandate. She pointed out,
however, that notwithstanding this primary duty, a banker may
refuse to carry out payment instructions where he is aware that the
customer does not know what he or she is doing, or where the banker
has a reasonable belief that the customer is being defrauded. This
arose, she stated, as a result of a duty of care which the law
imposes on bankers to be exercised towards their customers.
She also discussed practical pointers which could help a bank or
trust company to decide whether it should consider itself "on
notice" in relation to fraud and undue influence over a
customer. She also took the company through steps they should
take once put on notice, both in a situation where the client who
gave the instructions is of normal mind, and where it is suspected
he may be suffering from mental incapacity.
Simone highlighted situations where the bank will have a duty to
investigate transactions which require an explanation and which the
bank may have been instructed by its client to execute. She
indicated that it is usually difficult for a bank to discover fraud
or undue influence against its clients where the perpetrators are
family members, which is often the case.
Having blended, in her typical speaking style, the law with
practical guidelines for action, anecdotes from her experiences as
a litigator of 16 ½ years and a bit of humour, Simone concluded the
talk by opening the floor to questions. This developed into a
lively discussion of the issues by all.
Mrs. Desiree Terrell-Davis of J.P. Morgan, who extended the
speaking invitation to Simone and organised the event, stated that
J.P. Morgan found the experience delightful. She said
further, "The feedback has been extremely positive and it was a
great learning experience for the group." She has indicated
that they look forward to having Simone back in the near
future.
