THOUSAND OAKS : Teller Sues Over Bank Holdup Policy

A former teller at a Bank of America in Thousand Oaks has filed a lawsuit against the bank, saying its policy of giving out as little money as possible during holdups endangered her life during an armed robbery a year ago.

In the suit filed in Ventura County Superior Court, Suzanne Schneider said she thought she was going to be killed when the operations manager at her bank repeatedly gave a robber less money than he asked for during a Dec. 15, 1993, holdup.

The unidentified robber pointed a gun at Schneider throughout the holdup, and he threatened to kill her and two other tellers when the manager gave him less cash than he demanded, the suit said.

The complaint says Schneider later was told of a bank policy to give out as little cash as possible in a robbery, meaning that “the lives of bank employees . . . were to be bargained away in order to conserve funds.”

News reports at the time said the robbery occurred at the Bank of America on Lindero Canyon Road. The robber handed a teller a checkbook that contained a note saying: “This is a robbery. I want $20,000 in $100 bills. Don’t push the alarm.”

Schneider’s lawsuit said the manager twice went into the bank’s vault to get the man cash.

Schneider says she has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since the robbery and is unable to enter a bank for any reason, even to conduct personal business.

The suit alleges that Schneider was denied her request for another job at the bank. It also says a bank-paid psychiatrist called Schneider several times at her home and demanded that she return to work.

Schneider is seeking unspecified damages for infliction of emotional distress.

Bank officials could not be reached for comment.