Experi-Metal Inc v. Comerica Bank

Filing 34

MOTION to Compel by Comerica Bank. (Attachments: # 1 Index of Exhibits, # 2 Exhibit A - Comerica's Interrogatories, Requests for Production, and Requests for Admission, # 3 Exhibit B - Experi-Metal's Responses to Requests for Production, # 4 Exhibit C - July 15, 2010 Holleman letter, # 5 Exhibit D - July 23, 2010 Tomlinson letter, # 6 Exhibit E - March 4, 2009 Department of Justice letter, # 7 Exhibit F - Excerpts of Valiena Allison deposition, # 8 Exhibit G - Proposed Order) (Holleman, Todd)

Experi-Metal Inc v. Comerica Bank

Doc. 34 Att. 7

EXHIBIT F
Valiena Allison

August 19, 2010 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

EXPERI-METAL, INC., a Michigan corporation, Plaintiff,

-vs-

Case No. 2:09-CV-14890

COMERICA BANK, a foreign banking organization, Defendant. __________________________________/

VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION

DEPONENT: DATE: TIME: LOCATION:

VALIENA ALLISON Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:26 a.m. DRIGGERS, SCHULTZ & HERBST, PC 2600 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 550 Troy, Michigan

REPORTER: VIDEO:

Karen Fortna, CRR/RMR/RPR/CSR-5067 Patrick Murphy
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Dockets.Justia.com

Valiena Allison

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APPEARANCES: DRIGGERS, SCHULTZ & HERBST, PC By: Mr. Richard B. Tomlinson 48084 2600 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 550 Troy, Michigan 248.649.6000 Appearing on behalf of the Plaintiff MILLER, CANFIELD, PADDOCK & STONE, PLC By: Mr. Todd A. Holleman 48226 150 West Jefferson Avenue, Suite 2500 Detroit, Michigan 313.963.7420 Appearing on behalf of the Defendant ALSO PRESENT: Mr. Frank M. Peraino, Esquire Ms. Shirley M. Halas, Esquire Mr. Keith Maslowski

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Valiena Allison

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INDEX

WITNESS

VALIENA ALLISON

PAGE

Examination by Mr. Holleman

8

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Q. A. Q. A.

What did the note say? I don't recall the exact wording at this time, sir. Is the note still in his payroll file? I would assume the note is still in his payroll file, sir.

Q.

Is there a director of payroll or human -- let me rephrase that. Who maintains those files and where are they?

A.

The employee files are maintained in a locked fire-proof file cabinet with very limited access.

Q. A.

And is there a person in charge of that area? I would ultimately be in charge of that area as the president, sir.

Q.

Okay.

Did Experi-Metal ever seek to recover any of

the money lost from Mr. Maslowski? A. No, sir. (Marked for identification: Deposition Exhibit No. 4.) Q. (By Mr. Holleman): The court reporter has handed

to you Deposition Exhibit No. 4, which is a document that was provided to us by your counsel and identified as an excerpt from the Experi-Metal employee handbook. Would you agree that that is what we have
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here? A. Q. Could you please re-ask your question, sir? Is what we've identified as Exhibit No. 4 and which you have in front of you an excerpt from Experi-Metal's employee handbook? A. Exhibit 4 appears to be an excerpt from Experi-Metal's handbook; however, there is no date and I don't see a reference specifically to Experi-Metal. Q. Is there a handbook that Experi-Metal has that has a date on it? A. Each handbook issued through Experi-Metal has a date on it, sir. Q. And where is the date, on the cover or on each page? A. Q. It's on the cover for sure. Okay. And is the name Experi-Metal on the cover or

on each page? A. Q. It's for certain on the cover. So as you -- you don't know if this is an Experi-Metal excerpt or not? A. Q. I believe this to be an Experi-Metal excerpt. Okay. At the bottom of page 11, which is the first

page of the exhibit, the last line on that page says, "Security is our first concern." Do you see
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that? A. Q. Yes, sir, I see, "Security is our first concern." And do you agree that that is true for Experi-Metal? A. I agree that security is always a major priority in any type of electronic communication policy. Q. Okay. please? A. "Experi-Metal, Incorporated, employees will be held accountable for any breaches of security or confidentiality." Q. Was Mr. Maslowski held accountable for a breach of security or confidentiality? A. Mr. Maslowski and myself discussed the occurrences of January 22nd, 2009, and it was subsequently noted in his payroll file. Q. And that's what you're saying is how he was held accountable for his action? A. Mr. Maslowski and I had a discussion regarding the occurrences of January 22nd, 2009, and that was noted in his payroll file. Q. Which you've told me, and so if you can answer this yes or no, we can move on. And that's what you're And can you read the next sentence for us,

saying is how he was held accountable for his action; is that right? Yes or no.
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A.

Mr. Maslowski was held accountable for his actions on January 22nd, 2009.

Q.

And he was held accountable by the note you put in his payroll file; is that correct?

A.

A note was placed in Mr. Maslowski's payroll regarding the actions that occurred on January 22nd, 2009.

Q. A.

Was he held accountable in any other way? Could you be more specific regarding what you're asking?

Q.

No.

Was he held accountable in any other way than

the note that was put in his personnel file? A. Q. I don't recall. If you look at paragraph 21 on page 13, it says that, "User IDs and passwords help maintain individual accountability and any employee who obtains a password or ID from the company must keep that password confidential." A. Q. A. Q. Yes, sir, I see that. And do you agree with that? Yes, sir, I agree. Do you recall a system offered by Comerica called Comerica Gateway Funds Transfer System? A. Q. I don't recall, sir. Okay. Were you the person responsible for deciding
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Do you see that?

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Q. A.

Why did you discuss with them what occurred? Because I was planning on moving -- I had a line of credit with them and I had no money to finance day-to-day operations through Comerica Bank. of my accounts were frozen. All

Q.

And so did you ask them to give you any type of opinion as to what had happened and who was responsible for it?

A. Q.

No, I was scrambling. Have you ever asked them for an opinion as to whether a bank is liable for funds that are transferred out as the result of an employee giving the bank the credentials to do so?

A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.

I don't recall. Who is Karen Bonis, B-O-N-I-S? I don't recognize the name. Does Experi-Metal do work with US Bank? Not to the best of my knowledge. Okay. So do you know why she's listed as a

witness? A. Q. I do not. Did Experi-Metal file an insurance claim as a result of this loss? MR. TOMLINSON: Object to the relevancy.

Nothing to do with this case.
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MR. HOLLEMAN: MR. TOMLINSON: answer. THE WITNESS: Q. (By Mr. Holleman): company? A. Q. A. Chubb.

You can answer. You can go ahead and

Yes.

And who was the insurance

What was Chubb's response? "We will" -MR. TOMLINSON: ahead and answer. THE WITNESS: "We will research the Same objection, but go

policies that you have in effect for both personal" -- because I also filed a personal claim -- "and for Experi-Metal." Q. (By Mr. Holleman): after doing that? MR. TOMLINSON: and answer. THE WITNESS: It was an ongoing Same objection. Go ahead And what did Chubb conclude

investigation during which time I was told by Comerica -- by Claudia Cassa at Comerica that Comerica had recovered my personal funds and returned those to me. Upon receipt of those funds,

I called Chubb and notified them of such, and
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hence, that claim was closed. Q. A. (By Mr. Holleman): What about the other claim?

The other claim remained open for a period of weeks or months.

Q.

And what was the result? MR. TOMLINSON: THE WITNESS: insurance company. Same objection. I received a check from my

Q.

(By Mr. Holleman):

For how much? Same objection. Go

MR. TOMLINSON: ahead. THE WITNESS: Q. (By Mr. Holleman): reflect? A. Q.

For $10,000.

And what did the $10,000

It was $15,000 less a $5,000 deductible. What was the total amount of the claim you had submitted to Chubb?

A.

It was between $500,000 and $600,000. really know what the loss was.

We didn't

Q.

Did Chubb give you a reason as to why it only paid 15,000 instead of the full amount claimed? MR. TOMLINSON: 10,000. THE WITNESS: They did not. Objection. They paid

Q.

(By Mr. Holleman):

Did you ask?
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not what I was thinking you were saying, so I withdraw whatever question that was. MR. TOMLINSON: Q. (By Mr. Holleman): Fair enough.

Ms. Allison, is there -- do you

still stand by the statement that you signed on August 3 of 2009 as being true and correct? A. Q. Will you please repeat the question? Do you still stand by the statement that you just read and that you signed on August 3, 2009, as being true and correct? A. Yes, I do. (Marked for identification: Deposition Exhibit No. 15.) Q. (By Mr. Holleman): The court reporter is going to

hand to you Deposition Exhibit No. 15, which is a letter dated March 4 of 2009, addressed to you from the US Department of Justice, signed by someone named Nicole McGee, M-C-G-E-E, victim specialist. The signature is on the second page. Do you recall receiving this letter? A. Q. A. Q. Could you please ask the question again? Do you recall receiving this letter? I do. In the letter, the last paragraph on page -- in the letter, the last paragraph on page 1 says, "You may
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obtain current information about this matter on the internet or from a call center." Have you ever accessed the internet site or the call center to obtain current information about the matter? A. Q. A. Yes, I have. And what have you learned? That the case is still under investigation as of the last time I called. Q. A. Q. When was the last time you called? Several months ago. Have you accessed the website any time after -well, several months ago -- I said call, but have you accessed the website at any time in the last -since that last call several months ago? A. Q. I don't recall. What kind of -- have you ever accessed the website for information with regard to the matter? A. Q. I don't recall. Have you contacted any other law enforcement agencies or authorities other than the FBI with respect to this matter? A. I believe this was the place that I contacted as the victims assistance program after the FBI. Q. Have you been -- has Experi-Metal received any
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