Vernon Hill and ally Barry Spevak have filed a lawsuit claiming defamation, false light and breach of contract against Republic First Bancorp and three of its board members over actions that led to Hill's ouster as the Philadelphia bank’s chairman and CEO this summer.
The complaint filed Monday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Hill’s attorneys, Carolyn Short and Valerie Brown of Holland & Knight, levels defamation and false light claims against board members Lisa Jacobs and Harris Wildstein and interim chairman and CEO Harry Madonna and a breach of contract claim against the bank itself.
Hill is seeking $2.5 million as a result of the alleged breach of his contract — something he said he would do when he resigned in July. He also wants to be reimbursed for the costs of filing the lawsuit. Hill and Spevak are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Madonna and the two other board members for defamation and false light.
A spokesman from Republic First said management was not aware of the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon.
At the center of the defamation case is a March 4 letter by a faction of the Republic First board led by Madonna and including Jacobs, Wildstein and ally Andrew Cohen — an executive at the family office of hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steven Cohen (no relation). Neither Cohen was named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit notes that Jacobs, a partner and transactional lawyer at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young,...
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