The Plaintiffs were the CFO and General Counsel, respectively, for CCB under written employment agreements including a provision guaranteeing Plaintiffs’ a right to depart the bank and invoke separation payments in the event of a "Change in Control" of the Bank.

Citigroup later purchased CCB’s holding company, and Plaintiffs’ invoked the severance buy out and left CCB.  Incredibly, the Defendant refused to honor the severance agreement, claiming that no change in control had taken place and that Plaintiffs merely left voluntarily  

During the litigation, Plaintiffs pointed to public filings and media reports from Citigroup labeling the acquisition of CCB as a “change in control” and therefore Plaintiffs alleged CCB was in breach for failed to pay the separation payments due of nearly $6 million.  Defendants attempted to characterize the acquisition as the purchase of the holding company, rather than the bank, and thus ownership of the bank did not change and no "change in control" occurred.  

The case proceeded to trial, and on the last day of trial prior to final argument, the case settled for $5.5 million.

A contract is only as strong as the willingness to enforce it. When the bank refused to honor the change-in-control provisions in two executives' severance agreements—recasting a clear acquisition as nothing more than a holding-company purchase—Yuhl Carr turned the defendant's own evidence against it, using public filings and Citigroup's characterization of the deal to prove the breach. The case settled on the last day of trial for $5,500,000. Disputes over executive compensation and severance rarely resolve without attorneys willing to try the case, and we prepare every one as if it will. If your employment or severance agreement has been breached, contact Yuhl Carr for a free and confidential consultation.