1 Claim Against Bank Rejected; 2 Others Stay

Both sides claimed victory after the first courtroom battle Wednesday between a Santa Clarita bank and its former president who said he was fired because he tried to collect delinquent loans made to board members.

Robert Manley, the former president, filed a $2-million civil lawsuit against Valencia National Bank, which he co-founded in 1987. The lawsuit seeks damages on three claims: He was fired because he refused to give board members preferential treatment on loans, board members concealed their true feelings about him by giving him good job performance ratings and his reputation was defamed by his termination.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge William MacLaughlin ruled Wednesday that the first accusation was invalid, but denied a request by the bank to dismiss the latter accusations as well. Manley will be permitted to modify and refile the rejected claim.

“We’re encouraged the fraud and defamation causes of action were, in essence, endorsed by the court,” said Richard Howell, Manley’s attorney.

Howell said a modified claim on the rejected accusation will be filed within 20 days and, even if it is ultimately rejected, “I don’t see this impacting our damages request in any way, shape or form.”

But Lou Garasi, chairman of the bank’s board of directors, said that that claim is the heart of Manley’s lawsuit, and that it has already been rejected and modified once before. In addition, Garasi said Manley “has not been able to substantiate” the other two claims.

No date has been set for the next hearing.

Bank officials said Manley was fired earlier this year because of declining net earnings at the bank and disagreements about his management style. They admit that former board members defaulted on loans worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but say no current board member has defaulted on a loan. The current board members say the loans had nothing to do with Manley’s firing.