A Dallas jury ordered BBVA Compass to pay more than $98 million to a developer of three luxury subdivisions in Tarrant County after determining the bank and one of its executives misled him on loan renewals for the projects.
Jurors deliberated for three hours Wednesday before awarding the damages to developer David Bagwell and partnerships he formed to build million-dollar homes in the Broughton, Whittier Heights, and Old Grove subdivisions in Colleyville.
The lawsuit grew out of Bagwell's efforts to modify loan terms for the projects during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and real estate downturn. Bagwell's legal team argued that BBVA Compass repeatedly told him his loans were being renewed, even as it negotiated to sell the loans at a discount to a competing developer.
The competing developer foreclosed after acquiring the discounted loans and forced Bagwell into bankruptcy, his lawyers told jurors.
"Emails from Compass connected the dots for this jury," said Derrick Boyd, Bagwell's lead trial attorney, in a statement. "We were able to show that while Mr. Bagwell was actively trying to work with the bank to keep these developments operating, Compass was misleading him and working behind his back to sell his debt to a competitor."
In response to the verdict, a BBVA Compass spokesman said the bank "strongly disagrees with the jury's findings in this case and will pursue all actions to remedy what it feels is an unfair verdict, including an appeal upon judgment."
The verdict included nearly $38 million to Bagwell and $20 million to his related business entities. The jury also ordered BBVA Compass to pay Bagwell $40 million in punitive damages.
Birmingham, Alabama-based BBVA Compass ranks sixth in Texas for total deposits, with more than $38 billion as of June 30, according to the Texas Department of Banking. It operates 344 bank branches in the state.
This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. to include statement from BBVA Compass.
