Plaintiff Voluntarily Dismisses Derivative Complaint against Defendants Farmland Partners Inc., its Officers and Directors
Farmland Partners (NYSE: FPI) announced the voluntary dismissal of a derivative claim by Anna Barber against the company and its leadership, following a false fraud allegation made by short-seller Quinton Mathews in a 2018 article. Mathews admitted that his statements were untrue, which adversely affected FPI's stock price. The Maryland Circuit Court also dismissed two related claims. CEO Paul Pittman views this dismissal as a step toward vindication and urges class-action plaintiffs to reconsider their lawsuits based on the false claims.
- Voluntary dismissal of Barber's derivative claim may enhance investor confidence.
- Mathews' admission of false statements could diminish ongoing legal challenges.
- The allegations made in 2018 had previously negatively impacted FPI's stock price.
- Legal expenses related to previous claims may have affected company resources.
DENVER, June 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the "Company" or "Farmland") today announced that Anna Barber, the named plaintiff in a shareholder derivative claim filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, has voluntarily dismissed her derivative claim brought against the Company, and certain of its officers and directors.
Barber's derivative claim arose from a "short-and-distort" attack on Farmland, in which an anonymous short-seller writing under the pseudonym "Rota Fortunae," later disclosed as Quinton Mathews, published an article on Seeking Alpha on July 11, 2018, alleging fraud at the Company. Barber's voluntary dismissal comes on the heels of an astonishing admission by Mathews that the July 2018 article was full of false statements that drove down the Company's stock price, allowing Mr. Mathews and his clients, including the hedge fund who focused his attention on FPI, to profit when their short positions in FPI's stock gained value in the wake of the defamatory article's publication. The last three weeks have seen not only Mr. Mathews' admission and Barber's voluntary dismissal, but also a ruling by the Maryland Circuit Court dismissing two other derivative claims based on the same July 2018 article.
"This voluntary dismissal is yet another step towards a complete vindication of the Company after the 'short and distort' attack against us and towards putting the related legal expenses behind us," said Paul A. Pittman, the Company's Chairman and CEO. "We call upon the plaintiffs and the lawyers who filed a class action lawsuit against FPI based on Mr. Mathews' admittedly false statements to rethink the ethics of continuing their cases, and move on from their frivolous pursuit of FPI stockholders' money."
About Farmland Partners Inc.
Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality North American farmland and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. As of the date of this release, the Company owns approximately 157,000 acres in 16 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia. We have approximately 26 crop types and over 100 tenants. The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014. Additional information: www.farmlandpartners.com or (720) 452-3100.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Rota Fortunae Action and the Turner Action. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" or similar expressions or their negatives, as well as statements in future tense. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, such forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events or guarantees of future performance and our actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a description of certain of such factors see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.
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SOURCE Farmland Partners Inc.
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