Experi-Metal, Inc. v. Comerica Bank
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
2010 WL 2720914 (2010)
Experi-Metal (plaintiff) used Comerica Bank's (defendant) TM Connect Web wire-transfer system, verified by secure-token technology, and designated Keith Maslowski as an authorized user. After Maslowski was phished and gave his login credentials to a third party posing as Comerica, 47 unauthorized wire transfers were quickly initiated from Experi-Metal's account. Comerica eventually notified Experi-Metal, which asked Comerica to stop and recall the transfers, but 46 more transfers went out before all activity stopped; Comerica recovered all but $560,000, which it charged to Experi-Metal's account. Experi-Metal sued, and Comerica moved for summary judgment.
Whether an unauthorized wire transfer is effective if the bank accepted the transfer order in good faith according to agreed-upon and commercially reasonable security procedures.