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Legal Matters
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Loss Contingency [Abstract]  
Legal Matters

Note 16 – Legal Matters

In the ordinary course of operations, the Company is party to legal proceedings. Based upon information currently available, management believes that such legal proceedings, in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

On August 12, 2019, a former employee of Virginia Community Bankshares, Inc. (“VCB”) and participant in its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “VCB ESOP”) filed a class action complaint against VCB, Virginia Community Bank, and certain individuals associated with the VCB ESOP in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville Division. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to VCB ESOP participants in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. The complaint alleges that the VCB ESOP incurred damages “that approach or exceed $12 million.” The

Company automatically assumed any liability of VCB in connection with this litigation as a result of its 2019 acquisition of VCB.

In the third quarter of 2023, the Company entered into a settlement term sheet with the plaintiff to resolve the VCB ESOP litigation (the "Term Sheet"). Under the Term Sheet, the parties have agreed to negotiate towards entering into a formal settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") that would be contingent upon approval by the court hearing the case. As provided in the Term Sheet, the plaintiff has agreed to release the Company, the Bank, and related parties from all claims related to acts or omissions associated with the VCB ESOP, once the Settlement Agreement is entered into and approved by the court. The Company has agreed to make a settlement payment of $6.0 million to a fund for the benefit of VCB ESOP participants, with $5.95 million due after final approval of the settlement by the court, which is expected to occur late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2024. If the court approves the Settlement Agreement, the ongoing lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice, and all similar claims that were or could have been brought relating to the VCB ESOP will be released and barred.

The Company entered into the Term Sheet to eliminate the burden and expense of further litigation and to resolve the claims that were or could have been asserted related to the VCB ESOP. The Company accrued $6.0 million in the third quarter of 2023 in anticipation of this proposed settlement.