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Item 3. Legal Proceedings

2025-03-10 compared with 2024-03-08 · 28 added, 31 removed, 1 unchanged (98% of the section changed)

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

During the fiscal year ended December 31,

2023, except as set forth below, the Company was not involved in any material pending legal proceedings as a plaintiff or as a

defendant, other than routine legal proceedings occurring in the ordinary course of business.

Management believes that those

routine legal proceedings involve, in the aggregate, amounts that are immaterial to the Company’s financial condition and

results of operations financial condition or results of operations.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company

reached an agreement to settle two (2) purported class action lawsuits concerning the Company’s deposit products and related

disclosures, specifically involving overdraft fees and insufficient funds fees.

The matters, which asserted claims for

breach of contract including the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the Company, were filed in the Massachusetts

Superior Court, County of Suffolk, on June 10, 2022 and July 29, 2022, respectively.

Also in March 2022, the Company received from

the named plaintiff in one of the putative class action lawsuits a demand letter pursuant to the Massachusetts Consumer Protection

Act, M.G.L Ch.

the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, except as set forth below, the Company was not involved in any material pending legal

proceedings as a plaintiff or as a defendant, other than routine legal proceedings occurring in the ordinary course of business.

Management believes that those routine legal proceedings involve, in the aggregate, amounts that are immaterial to the Company’s

financial condition and results of operations financial condition or results of operations.

the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company reached an agreement to settle two (2) purported class action lawsuits concerning the

Company’s deposit products and related disclosures, specifically involving overdraft fees and insufficient funds fees.

matters, which asserted claims for breach of contract including the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the Company,

were filed in the Massachusetts Superior Court, County of Suffolk, on June 10, 2022 and July 29, 2022, respectively.

Also in March

2022, the Company received from the named plaintiff in one of the putative class action lawsuits a demand letter pursuant to the

Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L Ch.

93A (“Chapter 93A”).

The demand letter sought restitution and debt forgiveness for the named plaintiff

and the putative class, plus double or treble damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees, as may be allowed under Chapter 93A.

The Bank retained outside litigation counsel in these matters, and discussions to find a mutually acceptable resolution, including

an arms-length mediation before a neutral mediator, proceeded between the parties.

On January 5, 2024, the cases were refiled

as a single action in federal court in Massachusetts, where the plaintiffs have moved for preliminarily approval of a class settlement,

under which the Bank expects to pay damages of approximately $510,000 in exchange for the dismissal with prejudice and release

of all claims that were or could have been asserted in the putative class action lawsuits on behalf of the plaintiffs and all putative

settlement class members.

The proposed settlement remains subject to preliminary court approval, notice to class members, and final

court approval.

The $510,000 in settlement expense was included in non-interest expense in the Company’s Consolidated Statements

of Net Income for the year ended December 31, 2023.

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

n ot Applicable.

The demand letter sought restitution and debt

forgiveness for the named plaintiff and the putative class, plus double or treble damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees,

as may be allowed under Chapter 93A.

The Bank retained outside litigation counsel in these matters, and discussions to find a

mutually acceptable resolution, including an arms-length mediation before a neutral mediator, proceeded between the parties.

December 29, 2023, the parties entered into an agreement to settle both actions on a class basis.

Pursuant to the settlement agreement

and for purposes of effectuating the settlement, on January 5, 2024, the cases were refiled as a single action in federal court

in Massachusetts.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the Bank agreed to pay approximately $510,000 in exchange for the

dismissal with prejudice and release of all claims that were or could have been asserted in the putative class action lawsuits

on behalf of the plaintiffs and all putative settlement class members.

On January 23, 2025 the Court granted final approval of

the settlement.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the $510,000 in settlement expense was included in non-interest expense

in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Net Income.

SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 3. Legal Proceedings