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CONTINGENCIES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
CONTINGENCIES CONTINGENCIES
The nature of the Company’s business generates a certain amount of litigation involving matters arising out of the ordinary course of business. Except as described below, in the opinion of management, there are no legal proceedings that might have a material effect on the results of operations, liquidity, or the financial position of the Company at this time.
On May 25, 2012, SEPTA filed a putative class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against the Company, the Bank and nine independent current and former directors and three current and former officers (collectively, the “Orrstown Defendants”). The complaint alleged, among other things, that (i) in connection with the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 dated February 23, 2010 and its Prospectus Supplement dated March 23, 2010, and (ii) during the purported class period of March 24, 2010 through October 27, 2011, the Company issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s lending practices and financial results, including misleading statements concerning the stringent nature of the Bank’s credit practices and underwriting standards, the quality of its loan portfolio, and the intended use of the proceeds from the Company’s March 2010 public offering of common stock. The complaint asserted claims under Sections 11, 12(a) and 15 of the Securities Act, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, and sought class certification, unspecified money damages, interest, costs, fees and equitable or injunctive relief. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Court appointed SEPTA Lead Plaintiff on August 20, 2012.
On March 4, 2013, SEPTA filed an amended complaint. The amended complaint expanded the list of defendants in the action to include the Company’s former independent registered public accounting firm, Smith Elliott Kearns & Company, LLC (“SEK”), and the underwriters of the Company’s March 2010 public offering of common stock. In addition, among other things, the amended complaint extended the purported Exchange Act class period from March 15, 2010 through April 5, 2012.
On June 22, 2015, the Court dismissed without prejudice SEPTA’s amended complaint against all defendants, finding that SEPTA failed to state a claim under either the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act. On February 8, 2016, the Court granted SEPTA’s motion for leave to amend again and SEPTA filed its second amended complaint that same day.
On December 7, 2016, the Court issued an Order and Memorandum granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motions to dismiss SEPTA’s second amended complaint. The Court granted the motions to dismiss the Securities Act claims against all defendants, and granted the motions to dismiss the Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims against all defendants except Orrstown Financial Services, Inc., Orrstown Bank, Thomas R. Quinn, Jr., Bradley S. Everly, and Jeffrey W. Embly. The Court also denied the motions to dismiss the Exchange Act Section 20(a) claims against Quinn, Everly, and Embly.
On August 9, 2018, SEPTA filed a motion to compel the production of Confidential Supervisory Information ("CSI") of non-parties the FRB and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, in the possession of Orrstown Bank and third parties. On August 30, 2018, the FRB filed an unopposed motion to intervene in the Action for the purpose of opposing SEPTA’s motion to compel. On February 12, 2019, the Court denied SEPTA’s motion to compel the production of CSI on the ground that SEPTA had failed to exhaust its administrative remedies.
On April 11, 2019, SEPTA filed a motion for leave to file a third amended complaint. The third amended complaint sought to reassert the Securities Act claims that the Court dismissed as to all defendants on December 7, 2016, when the Court granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motions to dismiss SEPTA’s second amended complaint. The third amended complaint also sought to reassert the Exchange Act claims against those defendants that the Court dismissed from the case on December 7, 2016.
On June 13, 2019, the Orrstown Defendants filed a motion for protective order to stay discovery pending resolution of SEPTA’s motion for leave to file a third amended complaint. On July 17, 2019, the Court entered an Order partially granting the Orrstown Defendants' motion for protective order, ruling that all deposition discovery in the case was stayed pending a decision on SEPTA’s motion for leave to file a third amended complaint. Party and non-party document discovery in the case has largely been completed.
On February 14, 2020, the Court issued an Order and Memorandum granting SEPTA’s motion for leave to file a third amended complaint. The third amended complaint is now the operative complaint. It reinstates the Orrstown Defendants, as well as SEK and the underwriter defendants, previously dismissed from the case on December 7, 2016. The third amended complaint also revives the previously dismissed Securities Act claim against the Orrstown Defendants, SEK, and the underwriter defendants. Defendants filed their motions to dismiss the third amended complaint on April 24, 2020. SEPTA’s opposition was filed on July 8, 2020, and Orrstown’s reply brief was filed on August 12, 2020.
On August 18, 2022, the Court issued an Order and Memorandum granting in part and denying in part the defendants’ motions to dismiss SEPTA’s third amended complaint. The Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the
Securities Act claims against the Orrstown Defendants; granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the Securities Act claims against the underwriter defendants; granted the motion to dismiss the Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims against defendants Zullinger, Shoemaker, Snoke and Coy; granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims against Orrstown Financial Services, Inc., Orrstown Bank, Quinn, Everly and Embly; and denied the motion to dismiss the Securities Act and Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims against SEK. Also on August 18, 2022, the Court issued an Order and Memorandum granting SEPTA’s renewed motion to compel the production of CSI. The CSI was produced by the Orrstown Defendants on September 8, 2022.
On November 7, 2022, the Company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) to settle and resolve the lawsuit. The MOU memorializes the parties’ agreement to execute and submit a formal, binding settlement agreement for the Court’s approval, setting forth all of the material terms of the settlement reached by the plaintiffs and defendants. The settlement provides for a payment to the plaintiffs of $15.0 million, to which the Company has agreed to contribute $13.0 million. The settlement agreement will include a mutual release of all claims against all parties, and the lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice. The MOU does not include any admission of wrongdoing by any party.
On March 25, 2022, a customer of the Bank filed a putative class action complaint against the Bank in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in a case captioned Alleman, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, v. Orrstown Bank. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the Bank breached its account agreements by charging certain overdraft fees. The complaint seeks a refund of all allegedly improper fees, damages in an amount to be proven at trial, attorneys’ fees and costs, and an injunction against the Bank’s allegedly improper overdraft practices. This lawsuit is similar to lawsuits recently filed against other financial institutions pertaining to overdraft fee disclosures. The Company filed a preliminary objection to the complaint on May 16, 2022. The plaintiff filed a brief in opposition to the Company's preliminary objection on June 16, 2022, and the Company filed its reply brief on June 30, 2022. The Bank believes that the allegations and claims against the Bank are without merit.