Reference no: EM131675513

Question: Michelle Campbell worked for Luiz Simmons as his secretary. After Campbell was hired, she formed an acquaintanceship with Simmons's outside bookkeeper, Denise Evans. Campbell began to forge Simmons's name to checks drawn on several of her employer's accounts. Because Evans was a participant in the scheme and because Simmons trusted his employees, Campbell's forgeries went undetected by Simmons for over two years. During this time, Michael Lennon sold Campbell his Chevrolet Blazer for $22,000. Campbell paid for the Blazer, in part, with a forged check from Simmons's account. Simmons and Lennon knew one another through a business relationship. Also, Lennon and Campbell were once romantically involved, during which time Campbell forged Lennon's name on credit card applications and accumulated $17,000 in credit card debt in Lennon's name. More than 15 months after the sale of the Chevrolet Blazer, Simmons discovered that Campbell, with the aid of Evans, had been embezzling funds from his accounts for over two years by forging his signature on checks. Simmons fi led a complaint against Lennon to recover for the amount of the forged check he accepted as payment from Campbell. Simmons argued that Lennon should have known the check was a forgery because he knew Simmons and had firsthand experience with Campbell's illegal actions. How did the court decide the case? Should Lennon have been more cautious in accepting a check from Campbell given their past interactions?