Investment Firm in Philadelphia Sued for $427 Million in Federal Lawsuit
Cohen & Company Financial Management of Philadelphia has been sued for $427 million by Cascade Bancorp in Oregon. The Philadelphia investment firm is being accused of placing the Oregon bank at risk of falling short of meeting regulator orders to increase capital.
The bank is claiming that Cohen & Co. will not stick to an agreement established in October 2009 to settle the elimination of a liability, reports the Associated Press. The suit has been filed in the United States District Court in Eugene alleging that investors instructed Cascade Bancorp to settle a liability it had with the investment firm. The bank asserts that it established prospective agreements just last month with private investors to raise $150 million in its efforts to increase its capital levels to meet a 2009 cease and desist order. These orders can be issued by administrative agencies to stop banking practices that could potentially harm involved institutions.
As an investment firm that concentrates its fixed income services on asset managing and capital markets, Cohen & Co. is being accused of failing to uphold its obligations under an exchange agreement with the Oregon bank. In what is expected to involve complex business litigation, the firm faces charges for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and meddling with business dealings.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
