Ex-worker wins right to sue bank for $1M

The Business Journal-South Florida Stephen Van Drake  

A former employee of Miami-based Banco Industrial de Venezuela (BIV Miami) can sue the bank for more than $1 million in legal fees and costs, the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled April 9.

The three-judge panel's unanimous decision reversed Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bernard S. Shapiro's dismissal of Esperanza de Saad's reimbursement suit after being found not guilty of 10 money laundering charges and one conspiracy charge. De Saad was arrested while working for BIV Miami, where she had a written employment contract.

Florida law allows employees, who successfully defend themselves in such criminal actions, to seek reimbursement for "actual and reasonable" legal defense costs.

Since BIV Miami was a foreign corporation, the bank alleged Florida law did not apply.

The 3rd DCA flatly rejected that argument, stating any foreign corporation registered and authorized to do business in Florida shall be treated the same as any other corporation.

The 3rd DCA reinstated de Saad's suit and allowed her lawyer, Joseph David Wentworth Beeler of Miami's Ferrell Schultz, to intervene as a co-plaintiff in the suit, since de Saad assigned her reimbursement claim to him.

Beeler claims more than $1 million in legal fees and expenses, public records show.