Barings BDC, Inc. 10-Q

Item 1. Legal Proceedings. We and certain of our former executive officers have been named as defendants in two putative securities class action lawsuits, each filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (and then transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina) on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired our common stock between May 7, 2014 and November 1, 2017. The first lawsuit was filed on November 21, 2017, and was captioned Elias Dagher, et al., v. Triangle Capital Corporation, et al. , Case No. 5:18-cv-00015-FL (the “ Dagher Action”). The second lawsuit was filed on November 28, 2017, and was captioned Gary W. Holden, et al., v. Triangle Capital Corporation, et al. , Case No. 5:18-cv-00010-FL (the “ Holden Action”). The Dagher Action and the Holden Action were consolidated and are currently captioned In re Triangle Capital Corp. Securities Litigation , Master File No. 5:18-cv-00010-FL. On April 10, 2018, the plaintiff filed its First Consolidated Amended Complaint. The complaint alleged certain violations of the securities laws, including, among other things, that the defendants made certain materially false and misleading statements and omissions regarding the Company’s business, operations and prospects between May 7, 2014 and November 1, 2017. The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees and costs, among other relief, but did not specify the amount of damages being sought. On May 25, 2018, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. On March 7, 2019, the court entered an order granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss. On March 28, 2019, the plaintiff filed a motion seeking leave to file a Second Consolidated Amended Complaint. On September 20, 2019, the court entered an order denying the plaintiff’s motion for leave to file a Second Consolidated Amended Complaint and dismissing the action with prejudice. On October 17, 2019, the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal seeking review of the court’s September 20, 2019 order. The plaintiff filed its opening brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on January 6, 2020. The defendants filed their response brief on February 28, 2020, and the plaintiff filed its reply brief on March 27, 2020. The appeal is currently pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations in the aforementioned actions. Neither the outcome of the lawsuits nor an estimate of any reasonably possible losses is determinable at this time. An adverse judgment for monetary damages could have a material adverse effect on our operations and liquidity. Except as discussed above, neither we nor our subsidiaries are currently subject to any material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to our business.