Chaganti

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The Missouri banking dispute and lawsuit According to the operative complaint in this action, Chaganti is the president of Whispering Oaks RCF Management Co., Inc. (Whispering Oaks). In 2008, Whispering Oaks opened two business trust accounts with the bank in St. Louis, Missouri. Chaganti alleges he instructed the bank not to allow his secretary, Amanda Palazzolo, to withdraw funds from one of the accounts without his prior approval. Notwithstanding those instructions, Chaganti alleges, the bank allowed Palazzolo to withdraw $9,000 from the accounts between January and July 2010, without his approval. After being notified of the unauthorized withdrawal, Chaganti claims, the bank failed to conduct a timely and proper investigation, gave false assurances it was investigating the incident, and failed to file a claim with its insurance company to cover the losses. Chaganti eventually filed a “suit for damages” against the bank in St. Louis County Circuit Court in Missouri in 2015 (Missouri action). In April 2019, Luby substituted in as counsel for Chaganti in the Missouri action. Roughly a year later, in May 2020, Luby informed Chaganti that he…