Charley Merten won more than $6 million in the whistleblower case of Banaitis v. Mitsubishi Bank. This case dealt with a banker who was fired for refusing to give the financial records of one of his bank customers to Mitsubishi Bank, which owned the bank he worked for. Merten filed a wrongful termination case on his behalf and the jury awarded his client $1.3 million for lost compensation and emotional distress, and $5 million in punitive damages. Mitsubishi Bank appealed, but the verdict was upheld. The decision expanded the protection afforded to employees in Oregon who attempt to uphold the law within the workplace.