Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Litigation

v3.22.0.1
Litigation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Litigation [Abstract]  
Litigation
25. Litigation
The Company’s business is subject to legal proceedings, examinations, investigations and reviews by various federal, state and local regulatory and enforcement agencies as well as private litigants such as the Company’s borrowers or former employees. At any point in time, the Company may have open investigations with regulators or enforcement agencies, including examinations and inquiries related to its loan servicing and origination practices. These matters and other pending or potential future investigations, examinations, inquiries or lawsuits may lead to administrative or legal proceedings, and possibly result in remedies, including fines, penalties, restitution, alterations in business practices, or additional expenses and collateral costs.

As a litigation or regulatory matter develops, the Company, in conjunction with any outside counsel handling the matter, evaluates on an ongoing basis whether such matter presents a loss contingency that is probable and estimable. If, at the time of evaluation, the loss contingency is not both probable and reasonably estimable, the matter will continue to be monitored for further developments that would make such loss contingency both probable and reasonably estimable. Once the matter is deemed to be both probable and reasonably estimable, the Company will establish an accrued liability and record a corresponding amount to litigation related expense. The Company will continue to monitor the matter for further developments that could affect the amount of the accrued liability that has been previously established. For certain matters, the Company may consider a loss to be probable but cannot calculate a precise estimate of losses. For these matters, the Company may be able to estimate a range of possible loss. In determining whether it is possible to provide an estimate of loss or range of possible loss, the Company reviews and evaluates its material litigation and regulatory matters on an ongoing basis, in conjunction with any outside counsel handling the matter.
As of December 31, 2021 (Successor), there were no matters that the Company considered to be probable or reasonably possible for which they could estimate losses or a reasonable range of estimated losses.
The Company is a defendant in four representative lawsuits alleging violations of the California Labor Code and brought pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). The cases have been coordinated and currently are in discovery. Due to the unpredictable nature of litigation generally, and the wide discretion afforded the Court in awarding civil penalties in PAGA actions, the outcome of these matters cannot be presently
determined, and a range of possible losses cannot be reasonably estimated. Although the actions are being vigorously defended, the Company could, in the future, incur judgments or enter into settlements of claims that could have a negative effect on its results of operations in any particular period.
Legal expenses, which includes, among other things, settlements and the fees paid to external legal service providers, were $10.8 million for the Successor period from April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, and $4.2 million for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. Legal expenses for the Predecessor were $19.5 million and $9.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. These expenses are included in general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.