Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994 TAG: 9405190124
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall wrote that the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank and the FDIC had operated in an ``outrageous'' manner with a ``lack of regard for the rights of others'' in trying to get rent breaks from the landlord.
The dispute centered on a lease for office space in a 40-story tower in Fort Worth, Texas, occupied by First RepublicBank Corp. The bank failed in July 1988, and NationsBank, then called NCNB Corp., bought it with help from the FDIC.
In a ruling issued last Thursday, Kendall wrote that NationsBank and the FDIC didn't give the building's main owner, Burnett Plaza Associates, prompt notice of plans to move.
Instead, NationsBank acted as if it planned to stay in the building. By doing so, the judge ruled, the bank assumed the remaining time on a 30-year lease.
Then, NationsBank and the FDIC ``unilaterally'' demanded to change the lease terms ``and in the words of Don Vito Corleone `made them an offer they can't refuse''' by threatening to break the lease, the judge wrote, referring to the famous line from the movie ``The Godfather.''
NationsBank moved out of the building in April 1989. A month later, the owners sued.
Both NationsBank and the FDIC declined comment on the lawsuit.
"What happened was the power of the government was placed in private hands, and they said, `Let's use this power to make a buck,''' said Burnett Plaza attorney Bill Brewer. ``When they used the power of the FDIC, there was an incredible overreaching, and they were heavy-handed. A lot of people succumbed to that power.''
The $115 million award doesn't include at least $20 million in legal fees that the bank and agency were also ordered to pay.
by CNB