A Pacific Power and Light Co. affiliate that has accused Barnett Banks Inc. of fraud in a real estate lending deal has subpoenaed the records of a leading bank analyst.
Attorneys for Pacific Harbor Capital Inc. sent the subpoena last week to Raymond James & Associates of St. Petersburg, Fla., and its bank analyst Richard Bove.
Pacific Harbor, which like the utility is a unit of Portland, Ore-based Pacificorp, is suing Barnett.
The subpoena seeks all reports and presentations about Barnett that the brokerage has produced in the past 26 years, plus all the data on which they were based. Pacific Harbor's suit alleges that, using misleading information, Barnett enticed it into business deals with bank customers who were engaged in illegal activities.
The suit seeks $13.2 million in actual damages and triple that amount for alleged violations of federal racketeering laws.
Raymond James' in-house counsel Paul Metecki confirmed that the company had received the subpoena, but he declined to discuss how it would respond.
Mr. Bove follows Barnett Banks' performance and market strategy and has published numerous reports about the bank over the years. One 102-page report on Barnett was specifically requested in the Pacific Harbor subpoena.
Mr. Bove could not be reached for comment.
Pacific Harbor lawyers are striving to prove that Barnett Banks engaged in widespread money laundering for an assortment of customers in the 1980s. Barnett attorneys characterize Pacific Harbor's allegations as outlandish and say their company will be vindicated in court.
Barnett has already won a series of court rulings that effectively threw out similar allegations by another party in a separate lawsuit.
