National Merchants Association, an innovative FinTech company, pro-business advocate and payments acquirer transforming the financial services industry, released an update about its ongoing suit against Commercial Bank of California, a California chartered bank (“Defendant”), in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, California, case number 21STCV44674 and JAMS Reference No. 1210038694.
In December 2021 NMA filed a seven-count suit against Commercial Bank of California for various alleged violations, including, inter alia, breach of written agreement, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and unfair business practices, among more.
As it currently stands, NMA is suing for $280M and is in the process of doing depositions with several individuals and entities involved in the case. The case is moving toward a trial that is scheduled to take place in February 2023.
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“I’m fighting for our reputation and for all the other people that have been impacted by this circumstance. I feel as though it’s been a David and Goliath situation,” said Heather Altepeter, CEO, owner and founder of National Merchants Association. “I won’t stop and I will continue to speak the truth. What I’ve learned through this process is the importance of vetting and trusting your partners.”
The alleged unethical and unfair business practices executed by the leadership of Commercial Bank of California including its longtime and current CEO Ash Patel are as follows, among more:
- Taking NMA’s proprietary processes and information
- Freezing assets for months at a time, resulting in vendors and partners not being able to receive payment
- Misinformation about merchant risk reserves
“We are cooperating with every request and will continue to fight for what is right,” said Travis Everett, COO of National Merchants Association. “Heather has been an incredible leader throughout all of this and she’s one opponent I wouldn’t want to go up against, especially when she’s defending the truth.”
National Merchants Association will release milestone updates as the legal process proceeds. For questions or comments, email pr@nationalmerchants.com.