A former executive at Houston-based Cornerstone Capital Bank — known as Cornerstone Home Lending before the lender’s approval as a state savings bank in late 2022 — has dropped a $140 million discrimination lawsuit filed against the company in mid-2023.

Manuel Valdes was a national production manager and regional president for Cornerstone whose career with the company spanned two decades. Valdes alleged retaliation, discrimination, harassment and breach of contract in a countersuit filed against Cornerstone Capital Bank after the company fired Valdes and sued him to enforce his employment contract, according to a press release issued by Cornerstone’s legal counsel.

Valdes sued Marc Laird, Cornerstone’s chairman and co-founder, and Adam Laird, Cornerstone’s vice chairman, individually, seeking $140 million in damages.

“It’s more expedient for some companies to pay money to settle litigation,” Marc Laird said in the press release. “But, when allegations are without merit and instead appear as intended to simply damage the reputation our team members have collectively built over the past 37 years, we did not capitulate.”

The case was resolved just before it was scheduled to be heard by a jury. Valdes agreed to drop the case and walk away with nothing.

“We were prepared to show the jury in open court the evidence that led to his firing and to recover damages the bank suffered as a result thereof,” wrote Kevin Leyendecker, a partner at the law firm AZA that represented Cornerstone and the Lairds, on AZA’s website.

An attorney representing Valdes could not immediately be reached for comment.