The July 27 judgment followed June jury verdicts finding the bank liable on all claims, including wrongful termination, wage violations and LTIP-related breach of contract.
A California federal court entered final judgment on July 27 awarding $79,548,170.80 to Patrick Byrne, founder and former chief executive of Balboa Capital, in his whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination case against Ameris Bank. The award includes $16,641,557.80 in compensatory damages and statutory penalties and $62,906,613 in punitive damages, plus prejudgment and post-judgment interest, costs and potential attorneys’ fees. The judgment followed unanimous jury verdicts on June 11 and 12 after a two-week trial, with jurors finding Ameris liable on every claim presented, including wrongful termination in violation of public policy, whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code section 1102.5, failure to pay wages due at termination and breach of contract tied to Balboa’s Long-Term Cash Incentive Plan, or LTIP. The court also entered judgment against Ameris under California’s Unfair Competition Law (state business practices statute). Byrne said he challenged Ameris’s LTIP calculations for 2022 and 2023 because they underpaid earned wages to him and more than 140 other Balboa Division employees, and the jury found his complaints were a substantial motivating reason for his June 2024 termination. Ameris Bancorp had already recorded an $82.5 million pre-tax litigation accrual in its second-quarter 2026 earnings release and said it intends to appeal.