Miskey v. New York Community Bancorp Inc.

ADDITIONAL CASES Walter Edward Lemm, Jr., individually and n behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Thomas Robert Cangemi and John J. Pinto, Defendants; 24-CV-903-NRM-JRC MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiff Walter Edward Lemm, Jr. (“Lemm”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, commenced this action against New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (“NYCB”) and individual defendants Thomas R. Cangemi (“Cangemi”) and John J. Pinto (“Pinto”) (collectively, “defendants”), alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”). See Lemm, Jr. v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc. et al., No. 24-CV-903 (“Lemm action”), Dkt. 1 (“Lemm Compl.”). Cangemi and Pinto are former executives of NYCB. On February 13, 2024, Dale Miskey (“Miskey”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, brought a separate action (“Miskey action”) against NYCB, Cangemi, and Pinto. See Miskey v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc. et al., No. 24-CV-1118, Dkt. 1 (“Miskey Compl.”)

17-24. Miskey alleges similar violations of the federal securities laws by NYCB and its corporate officers.¹ Before the Court are two motions to consolidate the Lemm and Miskey actions, and to appoint lead plaintiff and counsel. The Court considers the motions of the two competing movants filed on behalf of (1) Boston Retirement System (“Boston Retirement”), and (2) Sand Hollow Management, LLC (“Sand Hollow”). See Notice of Motion by Boston Retirement, Dkt. 13, and accompanying Memorandum of Law, Dkt. 13-1; Notice of Motion by Sand Hollow, Dkt. 20, and accompanying Memorandum of Law, Dkt. 21. For the reasons set forth below, the Court consolidates these two actions and appoints Boston Retirement as lead plaintiff in the consolidated case. The Court also approves Boston Retirement’s selection of Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP (“Labaton”) as lead counsel. Background I. Factual Background The following facts are drawn primarily from the complaint in the Lemm action. Supporting declarations are accepted as true for purposes of this motion. Both the Lemm and Miskey actions arise out of NYCB’s purchase of Flagstar Bank, N.A. (“Flagstar”) and of certain assets and liabilities belonging to Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. (“Signature”). Lemm Compl.