Rival Florida banks that feuded over employees, trade secrets settle suit

The Treasure Coast bank that accused an Orlando rival financial institution of hiring away most of its commercial bankers who took trade secrets on their way out have settled a lawsuit, according to court records.

Neither Seacoast nor One Florida banks responded to a request for comment on the settlement, terms of which were not disclosed in the Dec. 18 filing.

The nearly year-old legal fight began after a mass exodus of employees from Seacoast on Dec. 26, 2019, without giving two week’s notice, Seacoast said in the federal lawsuit filed in early 2020 against One Florida and several departing employees.

Seacoast’s Central Florida commercial line that handled $640 million in loans in 2019 abruptly lost half its employees, including all the managers. The lawsuit described the division as being hollowed out.

The next day, those ex-employees started at the new One Florida Bank.

Seacoast also accused its former employees of accessing confidential information before they quit to try to poach their customers.

A spokesman for One Florida said previously the bank “hired experienced, well-respected bankers from Seacoast who were at-will employees and never instructed or requested any Seacoast employee to bring confidential information with them to One Florida Bank.”

Seacoast turned to the courts for a temporary restraining order and an injunction.

One Florida was warned not to keep any Seacoast records and to wait six months to contact a list of nearly 500 Seacoast customers whose information had been documented by the bankers before they switched jobs, according to a judge’s order.

However, not everyone followed the judge’s instructions.

John Casebier, an ex-Seacoast Commercial Banking Manager who switched to One Florida, kept a handwritten a list of Seacoast customers, their contact information and some loan details, including if clients had loan balances, their interest rates and maturity dates, according to U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton’s ruling in August.

“Casebier created the list mostly from memory, but also by reviewing Seacoast’s databases,” the filing said.

After attorneys told Casebier to turn over all records and documents from Seacoast, Casebier gave them the physical copy of the list. But when the attorneys left the room, Casebier photographed his six-page list with his cellphone, according to court documents.

Casebier later admitted to his attorney about the photos when he learned One Florida might forensically examine his phone, the court filing said.

Casebier, who said he never acted on the information from the photos, was forced to resign from One Florida Bank, court documents said.

The judge also held Casebier in civil contempt of court for failing to obey the court’s temporary restraining order.

“... Casebier’s actions are reprehensible,” Dalton wrote in the Aug. 12 ruling, although the judge said, “he has suffered consequences for his actions — the loss of his job.”

Casebier could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not respond to a message for comment.