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Legal Matters
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Loss Contingency [Abstract]  
Legal Matters

Note 18. 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 and excluding those noted below, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

On December 20, 2024, a former Deputy BSA Officer and manager at the Bank filed suit against the Company and the Company’s and the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond (Virginia) alleging that she was retaliated against and constructively discharged in violation of the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Act, Va. Code § 40.1-27.3, and Bowman v. State Bank of Keysville, 331 S.E.2d 797 (Va. 1985). On December 30, 2024, the Company removed the matter to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where it subsequently filed a motion to dismiss, which has since been fully briefed and is awaiting decision by the court. There is no specified time by which the court’s decision must be rendered. The Company believes the plaintiff’s claims are without merit and will defend itself vigorously in the matter. The case caption is Porter v. Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. (No. 3:24-cv-909 (E.D. Va.)).

On December 5, 2023, an alleged shareholder of the Company commenced a putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (No. 1:23-cv-08944) (Russell Hunter v. Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc., et al.) on behalf of himself and any persons or entities who purchased the publicly traded stock of the Company between February 3, 2023 and October 31, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Action”). The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws against the Company and certain of its current and former officers based on alleged material misstatements and omissions related to accounting judgments in the Company’s SEC filings. The complaint seeks certification of a class action, unspecified damages, and attorney’s fees. The putative class representative filed an amended complaint, and the Company filed a letter seeking permission to file a motion to dismiss. The parties engaged in non-binding mediation on December 5, 2024, during which the parties agreed in principle to settlement terms for $2.5 million. On February 4, 2025, the plaintiff filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the proposed class action settlement, which, if granted, will settle the Action and any claims related to the Action or that could have been brought in the Action by the parties, the parties’ counsel, or settlement class members (the “Motion”). The Motion expressly disclaims any fault, liability, or wrongdoing on the part of the Company. The Company’s outside legal counsel has effected service, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1715, of the Motion and related court filings to the Company’s federal and state regulators as well as to Attorneys General for all U.S. states and territories. The court has not yet ruled on the Motion. The Company has submitted an insurance claim for this amount, less a deductible, which been expensed for the year ended December 31, 2024.

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

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiff to resolve the VCB ESOP litigation (the "Settlement Agreement"). As provided in the Settlement Agreement, the plaintiff agreed to release the Company, the Bank, and related parties from all claims related to acts or omissions associated with the VCB ESOP and the Company agreed to pay $6.0 million for such release. In June 2024, the court granted final approval of the Settlement Agreement. This resulted in the ongoing lawsuit being dismissed with prejudice, and all similar claims that were or could have been brought relating to the VCB ESOP released and barred. The Company entered into the Settlement Agreement 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 settlement. On July 15, 2024, the Company made the final payment related to the VCB ESOP litigation pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.