By David M. GreenwaldAugust 6, 2026
IRVINE, Calif. — A federal court has entered a $79.5 million judgment against Ameris Bank after a unanimous jury found the bank wrongfully terminated Balboa Capital founder Patrick Byrne after he challenged calculations that he maintained deprived him and other employees of millions of dollars in earned compensation.
The July 27 judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California followed a two-week trial and jury verdicts returned June 11 and 12. Jurors found Ameris liable for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, whistleblower retaliation under California law, failure to pay wages due at termination and breach of contract involving Balboa’s Long-Term Cash Incentive Plan.
The judgment awards Byrne $16.6 million in compensatory damages and statutory penalties, including roughly $9 million in unpaid incentive compensation, along with nearly $62.9 million in punitive damages.
The jury specifically found that Ameris acted “with malice, oppression, or fraud,” the legal predicate required under California law for punitive damages.
Matthew Sessions, Byrne’s lead trial attorney with Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, said in an interview with the Vanguard that the size of the punitive award reflected evidence jurors heard about the bank’s handling of Byrne’s repeated compensation complaints.
“That’s why this whole thing I think resonated unanimously with the jury,” Sessions said.
Byrne...
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