RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - The 4th Circuit affirmed dismissal of a former bank executive's wrongful termination claim against the Bank of America, which fired him for refusing to divulge a client's financial records to a caller who claimed to be an FBI agent.
The bank told Eugene Schweikert, a senior vice president, that it was firing him for using poor judgment and refusing to cooperate with the bank's internal and external investigations.
A three-judge panel held that Schweikert's claim is pre-empted by the "at-pleasure provision" of the National Bank Act. As a bank officer making $135,000 a year, Shweikert had been hired - and could be fired - at the discretion of the bank's board of directors.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.