PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, the Company may be involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and other claims arising in the ordinary course of its business. The amount, if any, of ultimate liability with respect to such matters cannot be determined, but despite the inherent uncertainties of litigation, management believes that the ultimate disposition of any such proceedings and exposure will not have, individually or taken together, a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company. Set forth below are material updates to legal proceedings of the Company.
On December 20, 2018, a purported shareholder of the Company filed a complaint in a putative class and derivative action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Court”), captioned Robert Garfield v. BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC et al., Case No. 2018-0917-KSJM (the “Garfield Action”). The Garfield Action alleges, among other things, that certain current directors and officers of the Company breached their fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders by, among other things, agreeing to and entering into the Reorganization without ensuring that the Reorganization was entirely fair to the Company or public shareholders. The Reorganization was approved by 99.8% of voting shareholders on October 24, 2018. On December 19, 2019, the Delaware Court denied a motion to dismiss filed by the Company and certain of its directors and officers. While the Company and its co-defendants believe the Garfield Action is without merit and expressly disclaim any wrongdoing, they have collectively agreed to settle the Garfield Action for an amount equal to $6.85 million in order to avoid the ongoing costs of litigation and further distractions to their respective businesses. A settlement agreement was filed with the Delaware Court on October 9, 2020, and was approved on February 11, 2021. The Company’s share of the settlement amount will be paid entirely by one of the Company’s insurers.
On November 5, 2019, Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Black Knight, Inc. (“BKI”), filed a Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial in the Circuit Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in and for Duval County, Florida (the “Florida State Court”), captioned Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC v. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Case No. 2019-CA-007908 (the “BKI Complaint”). Allegations contained within the BKI Complaint include breach of contract and misappropriation of MSP® System trade secrets in order to develop an imitation mortgage-processing system intended to replace the MSP® System. The BKI Complaint seeks damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, injunctive relief under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act and declaratory judgment of ownership of all intellectual property and software developed by or on behalf of PLS as a result of its wrongful use of and access to the MSP® System and related trade secret and confidential information. On March 30, 2020, the Florida State Court granted a motion to compel arbitration filed by the Company. Consequently, on April 27, 2020, PennyMac dismissed its federal court action without prejudice to pursue those claims in arbitration as well. While no assurance can be provided at to the ultimate outcome of this claim or the account of any losses to the Company, the Company believes the BKI Complaint is without merit and plans to vigorously defend the matter, which remains pending.
On January 7, 2021, PLS received a letter from the CFPB notifying PLS that, in accordance with the CFPB’s discretionary Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise (“NORA”) process, the CFPB’s Office of Enforcement was considering recommending that the CFPB take legal action against PLS for alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Truth in Lending Act. The CFPB's examination covered the period from March 2015 through September 2016. Should the CFPB commence an action, it may seek restitution, civil monetary penalties, injunctive relief, or other corrective action, the extent of which remains uncertain at this time. Notably, certain of the alleged violations were originally self-identified by PLS and remediated prior to the CFPB's examination, and all alleged violations were fully remediated as of August 2017. PLS confirmed these remediation actions as well as full restitution to any affected borrowers in its response to the NORA letter on February 8, 2021. While the NORA process remains open and pending at this time, and there can be no assurance as to the nature or extent of any actions taken by the CFPB with regard to these alleged violations, we do not believe that the ultimate resolution of this matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial statements or operations.