U.S. Bank faces deadline to Signature response

Nadia Cavner’s Sept. 2 move from U.S. Bancorp to The Signature Bank prompted USBI to file a legal complaint alleging that Cavner violated clauses in her contract prohibiting her from using confidential information, including customer names and addresses, for purposes other than U.S. Bank business. The bank also says that Cavner’s contract prohibited her from soliciting any of her former clients if she were to leave the bank.

Signature’s Sept. 30 filing in Missouri district court was a response to USBI’s Sept. 15 request to reopen the case against Signature and Cavner. The case was closed after the court denied USBI’s request for a temporary restraining order against Cavner and The Signature Bank.

In the Sept. 30 filing, Signature said arbitration with the National Association of Securities Dealers would be the better way to handle the dispute. USBI attorney Michael Lueder responded, in a letter attached to that filing, that U.S. Bank intends to pursue the federal court case because of its more in-depth discovery process.

Cavner denies the claims, saying she retained customer information only by memory and did not solicit them for their business, instead merely informing them of her new employer.