Brooks & Derensis: U.S. District Court finds No Coverage for Cheque Fraud Loss under Forgery Insuring Agreements

By Chris McKibbin and Daniel Silla On September 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts released its decision in Brooks & Derensis, P.C. v. Twin Cities Fire Insurance Co.  The Court held that no coverage was available to a law firm that transferred funds out of its trust account on the strength of a cashier’s cheque which turned out to be forged. The Court reviewed two discrete, but similar, forgery coverages in the insured’s package policy, and concluded that the cashier’s cheque in issue did not meet the elements of coverage for either insuring agreement