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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies.  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies

 

Litigation

 

From time to time, the Company may be involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and other claims arising in the ordinary course of its business. The amount, if any, of ultimate liability with respect to such matters cannot be determined, but despite the inherent uncertainties of litigation, management currently believes that the ultimate disposition of any such proceedings and exposure will not have, individually or taken together, a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company.

 

On December 20, 2018, a purported shareholder of the Company filed a complaint in a putative class and derivative action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Court”), captioned Robert Garfield v. BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC et al., Case No. 2018-0917-KSJM (the “Garfield Action”).  The Garfield Action alleges, among other things, that certain current directors and officers of the Company breached their fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders by, among other things, agreeing to and entering into the Reorganization without ensuring that the Reorganization was entirely fair to the Company or public shareholders. The Reorganization was approved by 99.8% of voting shareholders on October 24, 2018. On December 19, 2019, the Delaware Court denied a motion to dismiss filed by the Company and certain of its directors and officers. While no assurance can be provided as to the ultimate outcome of this claim or the account of any losses to the Company, the Company believes the Garfield Action is without merit and plans to vigorously defend the matter, which remains pending.

 

On November 5, 2019, Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Black Knight, Inc. (“BKI”), filed a Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial in the Circuit Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in and for Duval County, Florida, captioned Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC v. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Case No. 2019-CA-007908 (the “BKI Complaint”). Allegations contained within the BKI Complaint include breach of contract and misappropriation of MSP® System trade secrets in order to develop an imitation mortgage-processing system intended to replace the MSP® System. The BKI Complaint seeks damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, injunctive relief under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act and declaratory judgment of ownership of all intellectual property and software developed by or on behalf of PLS as a result of its wrongful use of and access to the MSP® System and related trade secret and confidential information. On January 6, 2020, the Company filed a motion to compel arbitration, which has not yet been fully briefed or argued. While no assurance can be provided at to the ultimate outcome of this claim or the account of any losses to the Company, the Company believes the BKI Complaint is without merit and plans to vigorously defend the matter, which remains pending.

 

Regulatory Matters

 

The Company and/or its subsidiaries are subject to various state and federal regulations related to its loan production and servicing operations by the various states it operates in as well as federal agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, HUD, the Federal Housing Administration as well as subject to the requirements of the Agencies it sells loans to and performs loan servicing for. As the result, the Company may become involved in information-gathering requests, reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by the various federal, state and local regulatory bodies.

 

Commitments to Purchase and Fund Loans

 

The Company’s commitments to purchase and fund loans totaled $7.1 billion as of December 31, 2019.