Smiley sued by Signature Bank on defaulted loans

Signature Bank, one of the last holdouts in filing suit against H. Dennis Smiley Jr., made its claims public late last week filing suit in Washington County Circuit Court.

The suit filed Thursday (Sept. 4) claims the former Arvest banker defaulted on three loans to Signature Bank in recent years. The total owed is $448,997 on loans originally made for $528,500, according to the complaint.

Signature CEO Gary Head recently told The City Wire that the bank was working with Smiley’s lawyers directly to get payment and the bank was not approached by Arvest Bank for debt settlement like 18 other banks holding unpaid notes made to Smiley and his business interests.

One of the three loans in default to Signature Bank was made to HDS Holdings, a business entity the bank claims involves his father Henry Dennis Smiley Sr. The other two loans were made to Design for the Home, a business entity co-owned by Smiley and his wife Cynthia.

Head said the bank’s counsel would attend the Sept. 19 hearing in Benton County Circuit Court on all other outstanding civil claims against Smiley.

All of the other civil claims against Smiley have been filed in Benton County, the county of believed domicile for Smiley.