In Brief: Judge Lets Shareholders Drop Suit Against Thrift

A U.S. District Court judge last week closed the book on a class action against a Florida thrift's owners.

The judge for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the suit against the $1.8 billion-asset Fort Lauderdale-based BankAtlantic Bancorp's controlling shareholder, BFC Financial Corp. The plaintiffs, BankAtlantic's minority shareholders, dropped the suit last year, which led to the dismissal.

Shareholders filed the suit seven years ago against BFC and its directors Alan Levan and Jack Abdo, alleging breach of contract relating to a 1988 stock purchase. They claimed that the company had refused to comply with contractual obligations requiring BFC to purchase shares of all minority stockholders at the price and terms it had paid to one of the largest shareholders to gain control of BankAtlantic.

Last year, however, a shareholder who filed an identical suit, said that in hindsight, management's decisions seem correct. The shareholder noted that the stock had increased in value.

And last February, the investor group dropped its suit, although last week's court action was still required.

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