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Law360 (March 16, 2020, 1:27 PM EDT) -- An administrative law judge on Monday shot down a joint request for a delay in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's enforcement proceedings against several former Wells Fargo executives, brushing aside concerns expressed by both sides about coronavirus-related disruptions to their work.
Attorneys for Wells Fargo's former retail banking head Carrie Tolstedt and four other former senior bank executives joined with OCC enforcement counsel on Friday to ask administrative law judge Christopher B. McNeil for a brief postponement and deadline extensions in the case, which the agency brought in January over the executives' alleged roles in Wells Fargo's sales practice scandal.
The two sides said the COVID-19 outbreak has caused "significant unanticipated disruptions" to their schedules and could interfere with discovery efforts like traveling to meet potential witnesses, but Judge McNeil responded in an order that there's no domestic travel ban right now and international travel doesn't appear necessary for discovery at this point.
"Further, steps can be taken ... to minimize the risk of the spread of this virus — including the use of telephone or video depositions," Judge McNeil wrote. "No basis has been shown for either delaying the scheduling conference or extending deadlines now in effect. Accordingly, the joint motion is denied."
The denial order, which cited general recommendations pulled from the Centers for Disease Control's website on COVID-19, came the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court postponed oral arguments for the rest of March and follows a wave of delays, cancellations and closures that swept courts across the country in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Judge McNeil was asked Friday for a roughly one-month delay of a telephonic scheduling conference set for Tuesday in the OCC's case against Tolstedt and the other former Wells Fargo executives, including Claudia Russ Anderson, a former top risk officer at the bank; James Strother, former general counsel; David Julian, former chief auditor; and Paul McLinko, former executive audit director.
The joint motion also asked that Judge McNeil extend by five business days the due dates of certain filings responding to pending motions and document production requests in the case, which entered discovery last month.
The five former executives are accused by the OCC of having "turned a blind eye" to pervasive misconduct in Wells Fargo's retail banking division, where regulators found in 2016 that employees had been opening unauthorized customer accounts for years in order to meet aggressive sales targets and earn financial incentives.
In its January notice of charges, the OCC said it is seeking a combined $37.5 million in fines from the executives as well as lifetime banking industry bans for Tolstedt and Russ Anderson, among other relief.
An OCC representative said the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation. Counsel for Julian also declined to comment. Counsel for Tolstedt, Russ Anderson, Strother and McLinko did not return requests for comment.
The OCC is represented by its own Lauren Snook.
Tolstedt is represented by Enu Mainigi, Tobin J. Romero, Beth A. Stewart, William I. Stewart and Annie E. Showalter of Williams & Connolly LLP.
Russ Anderson is represented by Douglas A. Kelley, Brett D. Kelley, Patricia A. Pedersen and Michael J. Tostengard of Kelley Wolter & Scott PA.
Strother is represented by Walter F. Brown, Melinda Haag, Randy Luskey, Robin Linsenmayer and Roland Chang of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Julian is represented by Matthew T. Martens, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Daniel P. Kearney and John T. Byrnes of WilmerHale.
McLinko is represented by Timothy P. Crudo, Rees F. Morgan, Benjamin C. Pulliam and Daniel M. Bruggebrew of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP.
The case is In the Matter of Tolstedt et al. before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
--Editing by Marygrace Murphy.
Update: This story has been updated with additional details and counsel information.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
