Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Item 1 - Legal Proceedings
There have been no material changes in the status of the legal proceedings previously disclosed in Part I, Item 3 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, except as follows.
From time to time, the Company and its subsidiaries are involved in various legal proceedings incidental to their business in the ordinary course, including matters in which damages in various amounts are claimed. Based on information currently available, the Company does not believe that the liabilities (if any) resulting from such legal proceedings will have a material effect on the financial position of the Company. However, in light of the inherent uncertainties involved in such matters, ongoing legal expenses or an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could materially and adversely affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in any particular reporting period, as well as its reputation.
On July 24, 2019, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Company, its current and former President and Chief Executive Officer and its current and former Chief Financial Officer, on behalf of persons similarly situated, who purchased or otherwise acquired Company securities between March 2, 2015 and July 17, 2019. On November 7, 2019, the court appointed a lead plaintiff and lead counsel in that matter, and on January 21, 2020, the lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint on behalf of the same class against the same defendants as well as the Company’s former General Counsel. The plaintiff alleges that certain of the Company’s 10-K reports and other public statements and disclosures contained materially false or misleading statements about, among other things, the effectiveness of its internal controls and related party loans, in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 20 (a) of that act, resulting in injury to the purported class members as a result of the decline in the value of the Company’s common stock following the disclosure of increased legal expenses associated with certain government investigations involving the Company. The Company intends to defend vigorously against the claims asserted. On April 2, 2020, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On May 15, 2020, the plaintiffs filed their opposition to the defendants' motion to dismiss, and on June 15, 2020, the defendants filed their reply brief. Briefing on the defendants' motion is now complete, and the motion is under consideration by the court.
The Company has received various document requests and subpoenas from securities and banking regulators and U.S. Attorney’s offices in connection with investigations, which the Company believes relate to the Company’s identification, classification and disclosure of related party transactions; the retirement of certain former officers and directors; and the relationship of the Company and certain of its former officers and directors with a local public official, among other things. The Company is cooperating with these investigations. There have been no regulatory restrictions placed on the Company’s ability to fully engage in its banking business as presently conducted as a result of these ongoing investigations. We are, however, unable to predict the duration, scope or outcome of these investigations.
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