Court voids $1.5 million judgment against bank

Friday, May 7, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday wiped out a $1.5 million punitive damages judgment against Bank of America in a suit involving a former employee.

But the court upheld an $800,000 award to Joseph Bourdeau against Bank of America for intentionally interfering with his efforts to form a new bank after he resigned under pressure from Bank of America.

Bourdeau was manager of the Incline Village branch of Bank of America at Lake Tahoe when he was asked and then agreed to resign. The bank promised to keep the reasons for the resignation confidential.

After his departure, Bourdeau put together a group of investors to form the Bank of Lake Tahoe. An investigator for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, assigned to examine the application in 1994, interviewed past and current employees of the Bank of America.

The investigator filed a report recommending against Bourdeau being named president and chief executive officer of the new bank. It contained damaging information about Bourdeau, his lending ability and the reasons he left his job with Bank of America.

The new group then sold its potential bank to an existing bank.

After Bourdeau left Bank of America, he could not find a job in the industry despite more than 10 interviews with other banks. There was evidence that Bourdeau lost salary and a bonus as well as stock options after the FDIC denied the application of the new bank.

Bourdeau appealed the $800,000 jury verdict to the Supreme Court, saying it should have been higher. Bank of America appealed saying it should have been lower. The court let the $800,000 award stand.

The court, however, voided the $1.5 million in punitive damages on grounds there was not clear and convincing evidence of malice on the part of the bank in the information supplied to the FDIC investigator.