Dueling circumstances involving Cornerstone Capital Bank and a former government have been dismissed previous to trial, with each side claiming victory.
Each celebration has a unique interpretation of what occurred within the legal matter involving former Cornerstone Home Lending government Manuel Valdes.
A former impartial mortgage banker, Cornerstone acquired a Texas state chartered financial institution in late 2022.
Why Cornerstone sued Valdes
It filed its go well with towards Valdes in January 2023 after firing him for alleged breaches of fiduciary responsibility.
The objective of the preliminary lawsuit by Cornerstone was with reference to imposing Valdes’ employment settlement, particularly that the phrases had been nonetheless in impact, mentioned Adam Laird, vice chairman of the corporate, in an interview.
A countersuit by Valdes, which alleged his termination was not for trigger and likewise made claims of discrimination, was filed that May. Besides the financial institution, Adam Laird was a named defendant within the matter, alongside along with his father, Cornerstone Chairman Marc Laird.
“In the end, what the decision of the case was, is that Manuel walked away from all of his claims that his termination was not correct, that we discriminated towards him, that he was retaliated towards, he walked away from all of that and took nothing,” Laird mentioned. “That contains the truth that he would have been entitled to roughly $10 million in severance funds plus attorneys’ charges had his termination not been correct.”
What claims did Manuel Valdes make
Earlier this yr, Valdes’ spouse, Andrina, one other former Cornerstone government, bought a 75% curiosity in Republic State Mortgage.
A press launch from the Valdes aspect mentioned Manuel was fired 9 days after Andrina’s 60-day resignation discover expired, for her it triggered an 18-month non-compete clause. During the interview, Adam Laird mentioned the non-compete, together with a non-solicit clause, was a part of the contract negotiations with each Valdes’ and their legal counsel as executives of the corporate. Under its phrases, it solely restricted them from taking a job in areas the place Cornerstone operates.
Laird additionally clarified that Cornerstone doesn’t have non-competes for its mortgage officers.
Under the phrases of the settlement, all claims can be dismissed by each side, the Valdes launch mentioned. Neither aspect admitted wrongdoing or legal responsibility, no cash was exchanged, and every will bear its personal legal prices. This launch mentioned the financial institution elected to dismiss the go well with after a ruling towards it relating to a disposition by one other former worker.
Their launch mentioned the pair are presently operating Republic State Mortgage, which additionally does enterprise as Alta Home Lending, together with the opposite proprietor, Paulina McGrath, who’s president.
“When confronted with false claims, discrimination, and retaliation, I made the choice to battle — not as a result of it was simple, however as a result of it was proper,” mentioned Manuel Valdes within the launch. “It was deeply vital to me to defend my integrity and arise for others who could not have the identical assets or platform. While this chapter has been painful, I’m grateful we are able to lastly transfer ahead.”
What’s subsequent now that the lawsuits are over
Adam Laird struck a conciliatory tone concerning the relationship with the Valdes’ going ahead.
“In the end, we’re all working in the identical trade. My hope is that going ahead, all of us proceed to make a constructive distinction in folks’s lives and the way we do our work and the way we function,” Laird mentioned.
He added it was upsetting seeing among the spins on the case being made on blogs and in social media. Both Valdes had been vital components of the Cornerstone group for over 20 years and Laird was upset with how the state of affairs was taking part in out in these boards.
