Cavner to pay $51,000 for court misrepresentations

U.S. Bancorp alleges in a lawsuit filed in September that Cavner, her current employer, The Signature Bank, and four other former U.S. Bancorp employees illegally used confidential client lists to solicit business away from U.S. Bancorp, among other allegations.

Judge Richard Dorr of the Western District Court of Missouri, Southern Division determined during a Dec. 7 hearing that Cavner had misrepresented herself in court filings and through her attorney during a U.S. Bancorp motion for a temporary restraining order Sept. 13.

On Feb. 16, Dorr levied specific sanctions, noting in his written order that U.S. Bancorp's temporary restraining order would have been granted and not denied in September if Cavner hadn't made false representations.

“The court finds these misrepresentations to be particularly significant and aggravating because they were utilized by Cavner to gain an advantage in court that she would not have otherwise received,” Dorr wrote. “The advantage gained by Cavner was significant.”

Jay Dade, a Shughart Thomson Kilroy PC attorney representing U.S. Bancorp, said his client had nothing to add to the judge's opinion, other than to say “U.S. (Bancorp) continues to stand by the truthfulness of its own representations to the court.”

Cavner, meanwhile, said the misrepresentations she made in court didn't prove U.S. Bancorp's allegations.

“I made a mistake early in this process,” she said. “However, at the end of the day I can hold my head high because I have not solicited any U.S. (Bancorp) clients.”

Dorr ordered Cavner to reimburse U.S. Bancorp $26,000 for legal expenses directly incurred by her misrepresentations.

He also ordered her to pay $25,000 to the court clerk as a penalty for her actions.

Dorr wrote that $25,000 was “the appropriate amount of sanctions to deter defendant Cavner or others similarly situated from making misrepresentations in court to avoid temporary restraining orders.”

The Signature Bank hired Cavner away from U.S. Bancorp on Sept. 2 after 14 years of service, during which time she helped build an investment portfolio estimated at between $363 million and more than $450 million.

See SBJ's Feb. 27 issue for more on the development of the Nadia Cavner-U.S. Bancorp lawsuit.[[In-content Ad]]