Greg Cook Quoted in The American Banker on Latest Stimulus and Relief Package

Greg Cook, partner in the firm’s Birmingham office and chair of the Financial Services Litigation Practice, was recently quoted in an article in The American Banker entitled, “Stimulus law may put disputes over PPP agent fees to rest for banks.” In the article, Greg discusses how Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provisions included in the federal government’s latest stimulus and relief package will most likely end the slate of lawsuits filed by borrower agents seeking a cut of banks’ PPP fees. 

Greg shared with The American Banker that agents and their attorneys are likely to walk away from their lawsuits. 

“Plaintiffs’ counsel are persistent capable lawyers, but because they are persistent and capable, I think they will analyze the situation correctly” and realize pursuing the litigation is probably fruitless, Cook said. 

Provisions within the stimulus and relief package state explicitly that the only agent fees that PPP lenders are required to pay are those “which the lender directly contracts with the agent.” Some 60 suits involving more than 100 banks have been filed, seeking payment from lenders for the assistance they provided clients who received PPP loans. Though courts have repeatedly ruled against the agents, Greg points out that before this new Act, “it’s still being litigated… and it has not been abandoned by plaintiffs’ counsel.”

Greg’s practice centers on financial services and commercial litigation, including class action and complex litigation. He serves as the chair of Balch’s Financial Services Litigation Practice, where he has practiced since 1991. He has defended over 60 class actions, handled over 250 real estate and mortgage matters, and he is a part of over 40 reported opinions. Our class action practice recently received a Tier 1 ranking nationally by Best Lawyers. Greg is a frequent writer and speaker on these topics. He served for three years as co-chair of the ABA Class Action & Derivative Suits Committee and as the immediate past chair of the Business Torts and Antitrust Section of the Alabama State Bar. He is the recent author of “The Fifth Edition of The Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Annotated” (Thompson Reuters) and serves on the Alabama Supreme Court Standing Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure. Greg was also recently named a BTI Client Service All-Star.