IRVINE, Calif. - A federal court entered final judgment on Sunday awarding $79.5 million to Patrick Byrne, founder of Balboa Capital, in his whistleblower retaliation case against Ameris Bank (NYSE:ABCB).
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued the judgment on July 27, following unanimous jury verdicts returned on June 11 and 12 after a two-week trial. The jury found Ameris Bank liable on claims including wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code section 1102.5, failure to pay wages, and breach of contract.
The judgment comprises $16.6 million in compensatory damages and statutory penalties, including approximately $9 million in unpaid wages and bonuses, and $62.9 million in punitive damages. The jury found that Ameris engaged in conduct with malice, oppression, or fraud. Additional amounts for prejudgment interest, post-judgment interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees are included.
Byrne founded Balboa Capital in 1988 and sold it to Ameris Bank in December 2021. He challenged Ameris’s calculation of Long-Term Cash Incentive Plan performance targets for 2022 and 2023, asserting the calculations departed from plan terms and underpaid wages to him and more than 140 other Balboa Division employees. Byrne was terminated in June 2024.
In its second-quarter 2026 earnings release filed July 23, Ameris Bancorp reported an $82.5 million pre-tax litigation accrual covering the verdict and related costs. The charge reduced...
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