NEW YORK, May 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lowey Dannenberg P.C., a preeminent law firm in obtaining redress for consumers and investors is investigating claims of violations of federal securities laws on behalf of investors of Hallmark Financial Services Inc. (“Hallmark” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HALL).
Hallmark is a specialty property and casualty insurance company. During the month of March 2020, Hallmark’s shares experienced a precipitous fall as a result of a series of alarming announcements. First, on March 2, 2020, Hallmark issued a press release, announcing its decision to “exit from the Binding Primary Auto portfolio, which represented approximately $114 million of the Company’s gross written premiums for 2019.” On this news, the price of Hallmark shares dropped $2.10, losing over 14% of its value in only one day.
Next, on March 11, 2020, Hallmark announced it had fired its independent registered public accounting firm, BDO USA LLP, (“BDO”) citing to a disagreement over, among other things, Hallmark’s processes for estimating reserves for unpaid losses, internal controls over financial reporting and a potential impact on recorded amounts of the reserves for the previous reporting periods. On this news, Hallmark shares fell from $8.10 to $5.71, a loss of over 29% on a single day of trading.
A securities class action was filed on May 5, 2020 covering those who purchased Hallmark securities between March 5, 2019 and March 17, 2020. The complaint alleges that Hallmark lacked effective internal controls over accounting and financial reporting related to reserves for unpaid losses and that they improperly accounted for reserves for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses related to its Binding Primary Commercial Auto Business. The class in this case has not yet been certified, meaning that you are not represented by an attorney. The deadline to be appointed lead plaintiff is July 7, 2020.
If you are a shareholder of Hallmark who suffered a loss, we encourage you to contact attorney Andrea Farah of Lowey Dannenberg at (914) 733-7256 or afarah@lowey.com to learn more about this investigation or to discuss your options.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Hallmark should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC.
About Lowey Dannenberg
Lowey Dannenberg is a national firm representing institutional and individual investors, who suffered financial losses resulting from corporate fraud and malfeasance in violation of federal securities and antitrust laws. The firm has significant experience in prosecuting multi-million-dollar lawsuits and has in the past recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors.
Contact
Andrea Farah
Lowey Dannenberg P.C.
44 South Broadway, Suite 1100
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 733-7256
Email: afarah@lowey.com