PR Newswire | Oct 6, 2020 12:10AM EDT

Class Action against Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (HALL): Individuals with Non-Public Information Encouraged to Contact Firm

10/05 23:09 CDT

HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Files Amended Complaint In Securities Class Action against Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (HALL): Individuals with Non-Public Information Encouraged to Contact Firm SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman, the preeminent plaintiffs' class action law firm, as Lead Counsel, announces that the court-appointed Lead Plaintiff represented by the firm has filed an amended complaint in the securities fraud class action lawsuit pending against Hallmark and certain of its senior executives. The firm encourages individuals with relevant, non-public information regarding Hallmark to contact the firm now.

Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (HALL) Securities Class Action:

The action, captioned Schulze v. Hallmark Financial Services, Inc., et al., No. 3:20-cv-1130-X, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on May 5, 2020, on behalf of all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the publicly-traded common stock of Hallmark during the period from March 5, 2019, through March 17, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you have information regarding Hallmark's alleged fraud, Hagens Berman wants to hear from you. Individuals with non-public information regarding Hallmark are encouraged to contact the firm by emailing HALL@hbsslaw.com or by calling 844-916-0895.

As alleged in the Amended Complaint, throughout the Class Period, Defendants misrepresented and concealed that: (1) Hallmark deliberately and systematically manipulated and understated loss reserves in order to overstate its reported net income during the Class Period; and (2) lacked effective internal accounting controls to prevent such manipulation.

Investors began to learn the truth, according to the complaint, through a series of disclosures beginning on Mar. 2, 2020, when Hallmark announced it was exiting the Binding Primary Commercial Auto business and reported a $63.8 million loss development for prior underwriting years.

Then, on Mar. 11, 2020, Hallmark announced it had dismissed its independent auditor BDO over a "disagreement" concerning the Company's estimated reserves for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses throughout 2019.

Finally, on Mar. 17, 2020, Hallmark disclosed a letter from BDO to the SEC revealing that BDO had expanded significantly the scope of its audit on Jan. 31, 2020, with respect to the matters of disagreement, and that "a substantial portion the requests had not been received and/or tested prior to our termination."

These disclosures caused Hallmark shares to decline over 75% between Mar. 2 and Mar. 18, 2020.

On July 22, 2020, Hagens Berman was named lead counsel in the case by the Honorable Brantley Starr, with Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of firm, serving as the lead trial counsel.

For more information about the case visit: http://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/HALL

About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.

Contact: HALL@hbsslaw.com, 844-916-0895

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SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP