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BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. Summary: The original Complaint alleges that BankAtlantic, and certain of its officers and directors, violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. At the start of the Class Period, BankAtlantic touted its 'negative provision for loan losses.' Nevertheless, BankAtlantic materially understated reserves for real estate loan losses on its financial statements, and thus materially overstated net income. BankAtlantic gave a $27.8 million real estate loan without obtaining an independent appraisal of the real estate. The loan was granted to Michael Tringali, who worked together with Neil Mohamed Husani. The two men inflated land values and then flipped a series of properties in Florida to obtain higher real estate loans from several banks, including BankAtlantic. Husani and Tringali have been under FBI investigation for this scheme, which the Company either knew at the time or recklessly ignored.
The complaint further alleges that BankAtlantic knew or recklessly ignored that the collateral underlying this $27.8 million loan - vacant land in Manatee County, Florida - was worth no more than $17.1 million. BankAtlantic deflected questions about the adequacy of its loan loss reserves for this property. BankAtlantic said it commissioned an 'appraisal' of the property, but real estate experts questioned whether this appraisal had any basis. In April 2007, BankAtlantic announced that it was having difficulty with its Florida real estate portfolio but hid the true extent of the inadequacy of its loan loss reserves. On October 25, 2007, the Company announced that it had to increase its loan loss reserves substantially. The news sent BankAtlantic's shares down nearly 40%, from $7.45 to $4.72 on heavy trading volumes.
Similar, purported class action complaints have also been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
On December 12, 2007, the Court granted the motion to consolidate cases. On February 5, 2008, the U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro granted the motion to appoint State-Boston Retirement System as lead plaintiff and Labaton Sucharow LLP as lead counsel. On April 22, 2008, the plaintiff filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint. The defendants responded by filing a motion to dismiss on June 6, 2008. The motion is currently pending before the Court. On December 12, 2008, Judge Ursula Ungaro granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. According to the Order, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim where the Complaint does not allege with the requisite particularity facts giving rise to a strong inference that each Defendant acted with scienter. The Plaintiff’s Complaint is dismissed without prejudice. The plaintiff has twenty days to file and amended complaint.
On January 12, 2009, the lead plaintiff filed a First Consolidated Amended Complaint. On February 6, 2009, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the First Consolidated Amended Complaint. On May 11, 2009, Judge Ungaro denied the motion.
INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 6035
Sector: Financial
Industry: S&Ls/Savings Banks
| COMPANY/ISSUER NAME: | BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. |
| COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER: | BBX |
| COMPANY WEBSITE: | http://www.bankatlantic.com |
| FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE | |||||||||||||||||
| Joseph C. Hubbard, et al. v. BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., et al. | |||||||||||||||||
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| DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT | |||
| Class Action Complaint | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 10/29/2007 | ||
| Order Granting Joint Motion To Consolidate And To Set Various Pre-Trial Deadlines | |||
| Type: Order of Consolidation | Date on the document: 12/12/2007 | ||
| Order On Motions For Appointment Of Lead Plaintiff And Approval Of Selection Of Lead Counsel | |||
| Type: Order Appointing LP/LC | Date on the document: 2/4/2008 | ||
| REFERENCE COMPLAINT | |||||||||||||||||
| Joseph C. Hubbard, et al. v. BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., et al. | |||||||||||||||||
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| DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT | |||
| Consolidated Amended Complaint | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 4/22/2008 | ||
| Order On Motion To Dismiss | |||
| Type: Order | Date on the document: 12/11/2008 | ||
| First Amended Consolidated Complaint | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 01/12/2009 | ||
| Order Denying Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss The First Amended Consolidated Complaint | |||
| Type: Order | Date on the document: 05/11/2009 | ||
| U.S. District Court Civil Docket | |||
| Type: Docket | Date on the document: 05/15/2009 | ||
| OTHER DOCUMENTS | |||
| Class Action Complaint | |||
| Case Name and/or Number: Alarm Specialties, Inc., et al. v. BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., et al. | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 11/13/2007 | ||
| Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded | |||
| Case Name and/or Number: Harry Ploss, et al. v. BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., et al. | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 11/30/2007 | ||
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