Engagement letters nonbinding in FDIC tort claims

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted July 19, 2018 11:18 AM

Facing a complaint that asked for punitive damages and a jury trial on a claim for $21 million in losses allegedly sustained by Valley Bank because of accounting malpractice, Crowe Horwath LLP presented U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang with two arguments for ruling that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as Valley’s receiver, was bound by a jury waiver and ban on punitive awards in the engagement letters between Crowe and Valley’s owner, River Valley Bancorp Inc.First, because the engagement letters …

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