Bank of Montreal BMO wins major legal victory in the Petters Ponzi scheme case. The company's U.S. subsidiary, BMO Bank National Association, was granted a verdict by the district court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned a previous jury verdict that had ordered one of its subsidiaries, Harris Bank, to pay $564 million.
Background of BMO’s Lawsuit
The lawsuit concerns a Ponzi scam run by Thomas J. Petters and a few associated people and businesses (collectively, Petters), who operated a deposit account at a predecessor bank, M&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank.
Petters deceived investors into believing that he and his associates were financing the purchase of consumer electronics for resale to major retailers. However, he never actually made any purchases and instead used funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier ones.
The lawsuit against BMO was filed by Douglas Kelley. Kelley is the court-appointed receiver who is recovering losses generated by the Ponzi scheme. Kelley claimed that the M&I had knowledge of the scheme and ignored red flags.
Recent Development in BMO’s Lawsuit
The U.S. District Court in St. Paul, MN, delivered a verdict in favor of BMO, overruling the November 2022 jury verdict and ordered the case against BMO brought by trustee Douglas Kelley to be dismissed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals determined that the trustee effectively represented Petters Co., which was found to be equally or more at fault than M&I. As a result, the court ruled that BMO was not liable under the legal doctrine of "in pari delicto," which holds that a party cannot seek recovery if they are equally at fault.
How BMO Will Benefit From Latest Verdict
As a result of this outcome and in line with applicable accounting standards, BMO anticipates reversing its current provision of CAD$1.19 billion ($926.2 million), which includes accrued interest related to this matter. This reversal is expected to result in an after-tax recovery of CAD$875 million ($644 million) to be recorded in the fourth quarter under the Corporate Services segment and will be treated as an adjusting item.
Over the past six months, shares of BMO on the NYSE have gained 2.1% against the industry’s decline of 5.9%.
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Currently, BMO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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