A former McGill student won a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend after she successfully plotted to derail his career as a promising concert clarinetist.
In a lawsuit filed in Ontario’s Superior Court, Eric Abramovitz said Jennifer Jooneon Lee had deleted an email addressed to him in which he was offered a full scholarship to the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, CA.
Using Abramovitz’s email, Lee declined the offer in an apparent bid to force him to stay close to her. She then created a fake email address in which she impersonated Gilad, writing to Abramovitz and saying he had not been accepted for the full scholarship -- knowing he could not afford to attend the school under that condition.
At Colburn, Abramovitz would have studied directly under world-renowned clarinetist Yehuda Gilad.
Several years later Abramovitz was able to study under Gilad under a certificate program.
The musician, who only accepts two students per year, inquired why Abramovitz had turned down the opportunity to study with him -- and thus revealing the ruse.
In his ruling, judge D.L. Corbett Jr. called Lee’s conduct “despicable” and “sufficiently blameworthy to merit awards of punitive and aggravated damages.”
In total, the judge awarded Abramovitz $350,000, saying the amount represented "the court's revulsion" at having a "closely held personal dream snatched from him by a person he trusted."
Lee never showed up in court to defend herself, and the judgment was therefore issued in default.
