The First Bancshares, Inc., headquartered in Hattiesburg, Miss., is the parent company of a chain of banks throughout the American South.

According to the law firm press release, the lawsuit alleges that First Bancshares and members of the Company's board of directors violated Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 14a-9 promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by issuing materially incomplete and misleading information in documents related to the Company's October 12, 2016 private placement of mandatorily convertible non-cumulative, non-voting, perpetual Series E Preferred Stock with certain Company insiders, among others. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of all shareholders of First Bancshares who owned shares of the Company prior to October 12, 2016 announcement of the Private Placement.

Pursuant to a Stipulation by the parties, this case was ordered dismissed on January 18, 2017.