LAW OFFICES
STEARNS WEAVER MILLER WEISSLER ALHADEFF & SITTERSON, P.A.
MUSEUM TOWER
150 WEST FLAGLER STREET
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33130
MIAMI (305) 789-3200 - BROWARD (954) 463-5440
FAX (305) 789-3395
WWW.STEARNSWEAVER.COM
E. RICHARD ALHADEFF | JOSEPH K. HALL | GLENN M. RISSMAN | OWEN S. FREED | ||||||||||
LOUISE JACOWITZ ALLEN | ALICE R. HUNEYCUTT | ANDREW L. RODMAN | SENIOR COUNSEL | ||||||||||
STUART D. AMES | RICHARD B. JACKSON | KEITH E. ROUNSAVILLE | |||||||||||
ALEXANDER ANGUEIRA | SHARON LEE JOHNSON | MIMI L. SALL | THOMAS J. QUARLES | ||||||||||
LAWRENCE J. BAILIN | MICHAEL I. KEYES | NICOLE S. SAYFIE | OF COUNSEL | ||||||||||
ANA T. BARNETT | ROBERT T. KOFMAN | RICHARD E. SCHATZ | |||||||||||
CHRISTOPHER L. BARNETT | ANASTASIA I. KOKOTIS | DAVID M. SEIFER | DAVID M. SMITH | ||||||||||
PATRICK A. BARRY | DAVID P. LHOTA | JOSE G. SEPULVEDA | LAND USE CONSULTANT | ||||||||||
JEFFREY S. BARTEL | TERRY M. LOVELL | JAY B. SHAPIRO | |||||||||||
SUSAN FLEMING BENNETT | JOY SPILLIS LUNDEEN | MARTIN S. SIMKOVIC | |||||||||||
LISA K. BERG | GEOFFREY MacDONALD | CECILIA DURAN SIMMONS | TAMPA OFFICE | ||||||||||
MARK J. BERNET | MONA E. MARKUS | CURTIS H. SITTERSON | SUITE 2200 | ||||||||||
HANS C. BEYER | BRIAN J. McDONOUGH | MARK D. SOLOV | SUNTRUST FINANCIAL CENTRE | ||||||||||
RICHARD I. BLINDERMAN | ANDREW D. McNAMEE | EUGENE E. STEARNS | 401 EAST JACKSON STREET | ||||||||||
MARK D. BOWEN | ANTONIO R. MENENDEZ | BRADFORD SWING | TAMPA, FLORIDA 33602 | ||||||||||
MATTHEW W. BUTTRICK | FRANCISCO J. MENENDEZ | SUSAN J. TOEPFER | (813) 223-4800 | ||||||||||
JENNIFER STEARNS BUTTRICK | ALISON W. MILLER | ANNETTE TORRES | |||||||||||
CARLOS J. CANINO | HAROLD D. MOOREFIELD, JR | DENNIS R. TURNER | ———— | ||||||||||
JOAN M. CANNY | JIMMY L. MORALES | JONATHAN C. VAIR | |||||||||||
PETER L. DESIDERIO | JOHN N. MURATIDES | RONALD L. WEAVER | FORT LAUDERDALE OFFICE | ||||||||||
MARK P. DIKEMAN | JEFFREY A. NORMAN | RORY B. WEINER | SUITE 1900 | ||||||||||
DREW M. DILLWORTH | JOHN K. OLSON | ROBERT I. WEISSLER | 200 EAST BROWARD BOULEVARD | ||||||||||
SHARON QUINN DIXON | JENNIFER I. PERTNOY | PATRICIA G. WELLES | FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 33301 | ||||||||||
ALAN H. FEIN | DAVID C. POLLACK | K. TAYLOR WHITE | (954) 462-9500 | ||||||||||
ANGELO M. FILIPPI | DARRIN J. QUAM | MARTIN B. WOODS | |||||||||||
ROBERT E. GALLAGHER, JR | JOHN M. RAWICZ | ELIZABETH YNIGO | ———— | ||||||||||
CHAVA E. GENET | PATRICIA A. REDMOND | ||||||||||||
PATRICIA K. GREEN | ELIZABETH G. RICE |
December 18, 2001
BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc.
1750 East Sunrise Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Ladies and Gentlemen:
As counsel to BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), we delivered to you an opinion letter dated October 24, 2001 in connection with the preparation of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) filed by the Company and BBC Capital Trust II (“BBC Capital”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 15, 2001, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on October 24, 2001. The Registration Statement was filed for the purpose of registering under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Class A common stock of the Company (the “Class A Common Stock”), debt securities of the Company, junior subordinated debentures of the Company, trust preferred securities of BBC Capital and the guarantee of the Company with respect to the trust preferred securities of BBC Capital. This opinion updates the October 24, 2001 opinion letter in connection with the sale of up to 6,900,000 shares of Class A Common Stock under the Registration Statement.
In connection with this opinion, we have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such documents and proceedings as we have considered necessary for the purposes of this opinion. We have also examined and are familiar with the proceedings taken by the Company to authorize the issuance and sale of up to 6,900,000 shares of Class A Common Stock. In addition, we have examined a copy of the Registration Statement, including the exhibits thereto, and a copy of the Prospectus dated October 24, 2001 (the “Prospectus”) included in the Registration
BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc.
December 18, 2001
Page 2
Statement and a copy of a Prospectus Supplement to the Prospectus, dated December 13, 2001 (the “Prospectus Supplement”).
In rendering this opinion we have assumed, without independent investigation: (i) the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals; (ii) the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies; and (iii) the genuineness of all signatures. As to questions of material fact to the opinions expressed herein, we have relied upon such certificates of public officials, corporate agents and officers of the Company and such other certificates as we deemed relevant.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing and other qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that following the issuance and delivery of the Class A Common Stock against payment of adequate consideration therefor in accordance with the terms of the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, the Class A Common Stock will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
Our opinion is limited to the laws of the State of Florida and the United States federal laws, and we express no opinion with respect to the laws of any other jurisdiction. Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. This opinion is provided as of the date hereof and is based upon currently existing statutes, rules, regulations and judicial decisions, and we disclaim any obligation to advise you of any change in any of these sources of law or subsequent legal or factual developments that might affect any matters or opinions set forth herein.
In addition, we hereby consent to the use of our opinion included herein and to all references to our firm under the heading "Legal Matters'' in the Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.
Very truly yours, | ||
STEARNS WEAVER MILLER WEISSLER ALHADEFF & SITTERSON, P.A. |
STEARNS WEAVER MILLER WEISSLER ALHADEFF & SITTERSON, P.A.
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