Washington’s Court of Appeals on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against former officials at the failed Bank of Clark County that had been filed by a couple who lost $500,000 after the bank’s collapse in January 2009.
Former Clark County residents Michael and Theresa Annechino sued the bank officials for failing to place the couples’ funds in a federally insured account. The Annechinos said they transferred $1.85 million into the bank in October 2008, bringing their total deposits to $3 million. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation determined after the bank failure that $500,000 of the couple’s deposits were uninsured.
Michael Withey, a Seattle attorney who represented the Annechinos, said the FDIC has paid the couple a small portion of their losses, estimating the amount at around 10 percent.
The suit named former bank president Michael Worthy and his wife, Susan Worthy, who passed away in April; bank officials Joan Cooper and Kelli Reynolds; and Umpqua Bank, successor to the Bank of Clark County. It said that the couple had established a “quasi-fiduciary relationship” with Michael Worthy and Kelli Reynolds when they sought assurances that their funds would be fully insured.
