One Bank & Trust Lawsuit Moves to Federal Court

Jerry Pavlas (top), One Bank & Trust president and CEO, and the bank's chief financial officer James Schnoes are accused of forcing Donna Adams to resign. They counter that there was "just cause" for her termination.

An executive management tiff that began as a dispute in Pulaski County Circuit Court is now a federal case.

The legal donnybrook was started by Donna Adams, former senior vice president at Little Rock’s One Bank & Trust.

She sued the bank, its president and CEO, Jerry Pavlas, and its chief financial officer James Schnoes.

A 17-year staffer with One Bank, Adams claims Pavlas and Schnoes made her professional life so miserable that she was forced to resign in January 2014.

The working conditions caused and created by Pavlas resulted in her being constructively terminated, according to her complaint.

Adams is attempting to claim her piece of the bank’s supplemental executive retirement plan. She says that benefit was wrongfully taken from her by Pavlas.

The case was moved to U.S. District Court at the request of the defendants because the dispute revolved around the SERP with its attending federal implications.

The bank, Pavlas and Schnoes denied her allegations and asserted that Adams wasn’t entitled to the SERP benefits because she was terminated for “just cause.”

What constitutes just cause under SERP? “Theft, fraud, embezzlement and/or gross negligence, willful misconduct causing significant injury to the bank.”

If Adams was guilty of any of those misdeeds, it’s amazing Pavlas allowed her to continue working at the bank when other offenders were shown the door months ago.

Unlike several of her former coworkers, Adams wasn’t indicted for any alleged criminal conduct.

But the counterclaim by the bank, Pavlas and Schnoes seeking $2.7 million in damages leaves a starkly different impression.

Their claims all but call Adams an unindicted co-conspirator worthy of indictment.

Yeah, this one’s getting mean.