Appellate Court Denies First Union's Motion to Re-Argue Appeal Of Pioneer Commercial Funding Corporation Case.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2002 Bank Must Now Appeal to State Supreme Court or Face Execution of Compensatory and Consequential Damage Verdicts and Retrial retrial n. a new trial granted upon the motion of the losing party, based on obvious error, bias or newly-discovered evidence. (See: newly-discovered evidence) On Punitive Damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. Pioneer Commercial Funding Corporation (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :PCFC PCFC Pacific Coast Feather Company PCFC Post-Compaction Fault Coverage ) today announced that the Pennsylvania Appellate Court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. has formally refused First Union Corporation's (now Wachovia Bank, NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :WB) motion for re-argument of the appeal in the case of Pioneer Commercial Funding Corp v. First Union National Bank et. al. The motion, filed on April 1, 2002, was the latest attempt by First Union to overturn the verdict of the jury trial that ended in July 2000 with a $337.5 million punitive damage judgment against the bank - the largest such award in Pennsylvania history. Punitive damages were assessed by the jury because it found the bank's actions were willful, outrageous and with reckless disregard for the rights of the Pioneer, the plaintiff. The jury had also awarded Pioneer $1.8 million in compensatory damages and $13.5 million in consequential damages. "With this latest favorable outcome, we've recorded yet another victory in this long-running case," said Albert Nissim, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Pioneer. "There's no question that First Union improperly took money that belonged to us - the jury, the trial judge and now two appellate reviews have come to the same conclusion. This latest decision is yet another affirmation of our position." The case stems from an incident in 1997 in which CoreStates Bank of Philadelphia seized and refused to return misdirected wire transfers of $1.8 million that belonged to Pioneer. CoreStates was bought by First Union in 1998. First Union merged with Wachovia last year. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995, regarding the Company's business strategy and future plans of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the matters discussed in this press release. These and other important factors, including those mentioned in various Securities and Exchange Commission filings made periodically by the Company, may cause the Company's actual results and performance to differ materially from the future results and performance expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to provide public updates, revisions or amendments to any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect changes in the Company's expectations or future events. |
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