Appeals court temporarily blocks order that Tennessee Commerce Bancorp take back fired CFO

Appeals court blocks order that Tenn bank keep CFO

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals panel has temporarily blocked a court order that would impel Tennessee Commerce Bancorp to reinstate the chief financial officer that it fired.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that reverses a lower court order that would have forced the Tennessee bank to give George Fort his CFO post back.

Fort claimed that he was improperly fired after he raised concerns about matters such as internal controls and insider trading at the bank. His claim of whistleblower status was later backed by the U.S. Department of Labor, which sought to force the bank to rehire Fort.

Tennessee Commerce claims that Fort was “terminated for cause” and denied any unlawful conduct. It appealed the ruling of a U.S. District Court judge last week that Ford should be rehired and paid $1 million. The bank said that the reinstatement of Fort would have been “highly damaging.”

In issuing the injunction, the appellate panel said that the bank was likely to succeed in its ongoing appeal and agreed that rehiring Fort would cause harm to the bank.

Frank Perez has resumed the title of chief financial officer.

Tennessee Commerce shares rose 24 cents to close at $8.84.