- Key Takeaway: Ameris is planning to appeal a jury's verdict ordering it to pay nearly $80 million to a former equipment-finance executive.
- Supporting data: Ameris reported more than $30.5 million in equipment-finance revenue in 2025.
- Expert quote: "This is a minor issue in the big picture" Brean Capital analyst Christopher Marinac
Ameris Bancorp plans to appeal a jury result awarding nearly $80 million to the former head of its equipment-finance subsidiary.
Patrick Byrne, who cofounded Balboa Capital in 1988 and
The jury hearing the case agreed, returning a verdict last week that awarded Byrne $16.5 million in economic damages, along with $62.9 million in punitive damages.
But in a current-events report filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the $28.1 billion-asset Ameris stated it believes the result "is not supported by the facts or applicable law." Ameris also declared its intent to appeal, though it acknowledged final resolution of the matter "could have a material adverse effect" on its financial results.
"We believe Mr. Byrne was paid all compensation to which he was entitled under his agreements with the company, and we plan to appeal the decision," Ameris told American Banker Monday in a statement."
In a press release Monday, Byrnes' attorneys, from the Los Angeles-based Allen Matkins law firm, stated that Ameris "systematically failed" to pay performance bonuses it promised when it acquired Balboa. The jury heard two weeks of testimony. Allen Matkins charged Ameris with "manipulating the metrics and methodology underlying the long-term incentive plan in ways that were inconsistent with the agreement's terms."
"I spent my career building Balboa and stood up for the people who built it with me," Byrne said in the press release. "I'm grateful the jury listened to the evidence and held Ameris accountable."
In a separate lawsuit filed in February, Ameris sued Byrne, claiming he transmitted thousands of pages of confidential documents to his unencrypted personal email account in violation of company policy. Ameris is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages in the action, which is ongoing.
An attorney representing Byrne in the suit filed by Ameris had not responded to a request for comment at deadline.
Brean Capital analyst Chris Marinac wrote Monday in a research note that he anticipates Ameris will record a one-time charge against earnings of 21 to 25 cents per share "to cover the initial award and legal costs." Marinac added that Ameris' increasing levels of capital and earnings power give it the capacity to absorb the legal expenses without undue difficulty.
"This is a minor issue in the big picture," Marinac wrote.
Ameris reported first-quarter net income totaling $110.5 million, or $1.63 per share, up from $87.9 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier. The company reported $9.1 million in equipment-finance revenue for the three months ending March 31, up from $7 million for the same period in 2025. For all of 2025, Ameris' equipment-finance revenue totaled $30.56 million, up from $21.6 million a year earlier.
The Byrne verdict comes as a number of lenders have moved to limit involvement in the equipment-finance space. Some have scaled back originations while others have moved to sell off their leasing subsidiaries.
The $28.2 billion-asset United Community Banks in Greenville, South Carolina, announced plans earlier this month to sell its Navitas equipment-finance unit to Wafra, a New York-based asset-management firm, for $1.9 billion. The $6.6 billion-asset Midland State Bancorp in Effingham, Illinois made a similar move in December, agreeing to sell its equipment-finance loan portfolio to North Mill Equipment Finance in Norwalk, Connecticut, for $502 million in cash.
In its statement, Ameris indicated it has no plans to change strategy in the wake of the jury verdict. "We will continue to serve the needs of equipment-finance customers," the company stated.
The Byrne litigation wasn't Ameris' first legal tussle involving Balboa. In 2023 a federal judge in Dallas invalidated $11.5 million of loans, ruling the equipment-finance lender failed to include essential terms in borrowers' loan packages.
