Batten v. Cmty. Tr. & Banking Co., E2017-00279-COA-R3-CV
| Decision Date | 26 August 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. E2017-00279-COA-R3-CV,E2017-00279-COA-R3-CV |
| Parties | C. BRUCE BATTEN v. COMMUNITY TRUST AND BANKING COMPANY, ET AL. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hamilton County
This appeal arises from the trial court's reconsideration and granting of summary judgment motions that had initially been denied by another judge. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
John P. Konvalinka and Thomas M. Gautreaux, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, C. Bruce Batten.
Gary R. Patrick and Susie Lodico, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Community Trust and Banking Company.
Gary S. Napolitan and M. Andrew Pippenger, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Kathryn Reed Edge.
OPINIONIn 2001, Community Trust and Banking Company ("Bank"),1 hired C. BruceBatten to be its CEO and president. Under Section 3 of his employment agreement, Batten's base salary was set at $144,754 per year. Under that same section, Batten was to receive the following: benefits under or participate in stock options, retirement plans, supplemental retirement plans, pension plans, profit sharing plans, health and accident plans, medical coverage or any other employee benefit plan offered by Bank; medical coverage, bonuses, reimbursement for travel and entertainment expenses; reimbursement for cellular phone; an automobile allowance of $500 per month; and reimbursement for all non-use dues at The Mountain City Club.
The employment agreement required Batten to devote all his time, effort, and skill to the "organization, operation and management" of Bank. Batten acknowledged being ultimately responsible for overseeing loans and deposits, directing bank marketing activities, "setting loan and interest rates," and creating an incentive plan for getting new loans. In addition to these types of responsibilities, Batten also took it upon himself to "implement" and "develop" other specific job duties, including "picking up paper in the parking lot . . . every morning," "changing light bulbs," "routinely" using his truck to "pick up . . . broken furniture" at Bank's branch locations, clearing and then spreading straw on parcels of property owned by Bank with his tractor and trailer, and "routinely us[ing] his storage space . . . to store [excess] bank records . . . ." Additionally, Batten had Bank buy several grills and smokers during his tenure, culminating in the purchase of a $15,000 smoker that Batten described as a "very unique micro marketing tool" and "the most successful use of marketing dollars" while he was at Bank. The record reveals that Batten would smoke turkeys for customers and provide them Bank-purchased beer to drink while they watched him cook at his or "other people's" homes.2 He admitted that some of these activities were "not typically . . . in the purview of someone's duties and responsibilities as the president and CEO" of a bank. Batten claimed, however, that his actions benefitted Bank and did not impair his job performance. Bank would eventually charge that Batten had shirked or delegated his administrative duties because such actions strayed from the administration of the financial institution.
Before any problems arose for the parties, Batten and Bank had entered into an amended and restated employment agreement in May 2005. Under its terms, Batten was entitled to voluntarily terminate his employment with Bank by providing sixty days' prior written notice:
4. PAYMENTS TO BATTEN UPON TERMINATION. Batten may terminate his employment under this agreement by resignation upon not less than sixty (60) days prior written notice to the Bank. The Bank shall pay Batten his thencurrent Base Salary and provide all of the benefits provided in Section 3 until the effective date of his resignation and for thirty-six (36) months thereafter. The Bank shall have the right to terminate Batten's employment under this Agreement by giving Batten sixty (60) days prior written notice. If the Bank elects to give notice to Batten of termination of his employment under this Agreement, for thirty-six (36) months after the effective date of such termination, the Bank shall pay Batten his then current Base Salary and provide all of the benefits provided in Section 3.
The employment agreement included no outside criteria, standards, or schedules.
In 2009, the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions ("TDFI") initiated an examination of Bank. When TDFI completed its report, Batten and other Bank executives attended an "exit meeting" with the examiners on October 22, 2009. During the meeting, TDFI announced that the quality of Bank's assets had "significantly deteriorated" since its last examination; its earnings were "deficient;" its risk management practices were "inadequate;" its capital levels had "significantly decreased;" its management had committed "significant . . . violations [or] contraventions" of law; and its overall condition had "deteriorated." TDFI specifically discussed the component and composite ratings that it had assigned to Bank. In the first three quarters of 2009, Bank had posted losses of $1,176,000. Batten did not disagree with TDFI's appraisal of Bank or the majority of TDFI's conclusions. He now asserts, however, that although Bank struggled for a portion of the time that he served as president and CEO, the financial troubles could not all be blamed on him. He would note that the financial industry as a whole sustained historic losses and that many banks across the country failed completely. After the exit meeting, Batten signed a document certifying that he would help develop plans to address the numerous deficiencies identified by TDFI.
On November 2, 2009, Bank retained Kathryn Reed Edge, an attorney with the firm that represented Bank, to perform legal services in connection with TDFI's examination.3 Batten, as president of Bank, signed Edge's engagement letter. Six days later, Edge prepared a "confidential Memorandum" for Bank in which she summarized and addressed the information provided by TDFI at the exit meeting. She noted that the following composite CAMELS ratings were being recommended by TDFI:
In the early part of December 2009, Edge participated in meetings with TDFI and Bank's Board of Directors in order to discuss the findings of the examination report and Bank's financial condition. On December 7, 2009, she prepared a letter to TDFI's Commissioner, in which she acknowledged the nature of the various ratings that had been "assigned" to Bank. During this time period, Edge addressed with Batten the possibility that Bank might receive some type of formal supervisory action from TDFI.
Batten apparently became concerned about his future with Bank. He met privately with Edge to talk about his possible resignation and discussed with her a provision in the employment agreement that allowed Bank to terminate him "for cause." Because such an action by Bank would affect his right to receive severance payments, Batten questioned Edge as to whether Bank "could use" its current situation to terminate him "for cause" under the agreement.
According to Batten, he specifically asked Edge if she was aware of any reason why he might not receive his severance benefits, and she replied that she was not aware of anything that would result in the severance not being paid. He claims that Edge never disclosed to him that, due to the findings of TDFI, Bank would certainly be assigned a composite CAMELS score of 4; that, when a financial institution is assigned a CAMELS score of 4, pursuant to applicable federal regulations, it constitutes a troubled condition; and that such a bank is barred from making payments that constitute golden parachutes. Batten argues that Edge never informed him that his severance package could be considered a golden parachute. He claims that during their discussions, Edge advised him to tender his notice of termination to Bank in December 2009, as opposed to waiting, so that Batten would not be listed as CEO in Bank's upcoming capital circular.
After his conversations with Edge, Batten decided to voluntarily resign from Bank. Although Edge did not personally represent him, Batten asked her to compose his notice of termination. She forwarded a proposed draft to him by email with the following statement:
Upon his review, Batten requested that Edge add a sentence about his need to stop working because of his health, claiming that the work-related stress was affecting him and, also, that he was not physically capable of doing his job any longer. The revised notice provided, in part, as follows:
I have...
To continue reading
Request your trial