Severance Package Worth Nearly $1.6 Million

George Kadonada walked away from his job as chief executive of US Facilities Corp. last year with nearly $1.6 million in cash and property, according to the company’s recent proxy.

Kadonada, who parted ways with the Costa Mesa medical and casualty insurer amid a hostile takeover attempt, received more than three times the amount believed paid when the company said it would take a $500,000 charge to pay for his severance package.

Kadonada, who helped found the company in 1980, picked up $533,333 in salary on a contract that would have expired at the end of this year, the proxy states.

He also received severance pay and property--mainly a company car and computer equipment--as well as the cancellation of certain loan payments--for a total benefit of $534,800. In addition, he exercised stock options to gain $480,500. Finally, he picked up almost $40,000 in accrued but unpaid compensation and accrued but unused vacation.

The severance agreement prohibited the company from giving the reason for Kadonada’s departure or his future plans.

Near the end of his leadership, though, US Facilities was muddling along with lackluster stock prices, prompting a hostile takeover bid two years ago by title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc. in Irvine.

Shareholders at an annual meeting soundly rebuffed Kadonada’s effort to block Fidelity’s proposal to put US Facilities on the block to the highest bidder. Under new leadership, the company’s stock price revived and Fidelity eventually canceled its bid, selling its stock at a profit.

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James S. Granelli covers financial institutions and fraud issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5810 and at [email protected].