Law firms probe Columbia-based home builder after stock fall, notable resignations
A Columbia-based home builder is under investigation after former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and other board members submitted resignation letters. Following news of the resignations, the company’s stock price plummeted.
United Homes Group — a publicly traded residential builder headquartered near Columbia — is being investigated by multiple law firms that say the company mislead investors about their financial condition while its board of directors were in turmoil. On Oct. 19, several board members, including Haley and Clemson University President James Clements, announced they were resigning in protest of the company’s CEO and board chairman refusing to step down.
The move came after a “strategic review process” of the group’s business prompted several board members to insist that Michael Nieri, the controlling stockholder and executive chairman of the company, resign from his position and relinquish any remaining cash compensation he would be entitled under his existing employment agreement, according to a news release from the company.
Nieri refused, spurring the resignation of six board members. Besides Haley and Clements, Robert Dozier Jr., Jason Enoch, Alan Levine and James M. Pirrello also submitted letters of resignation, effective no later than November 14, according to a news release.
Following news of the Oct. 19 resignations the company’s stock price fell by $2.24 per share — 52.46 percent. The stock price closed at $2.03 per share that day.
As a result, lawyers from Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, the Pomergrantz Law Firm and Glancy, Prongay & Murray began investigating the company — on behalf of the company investors — for potential violations of federal securities laws.
One law firm said in a news release that the company misled investors by failing to disclose that board members lacked confidence in Nieri, while publicly promoting that the company was in a good financial position.
United Homes Group did not respond to a request for comment to the pending investigations.
Each firm, which are considering class actions suits against United Homes Group, are urging investors to contact them to assist with the investigation. Class action suits don’t require injured persons to pay for legal representation up front as law firms work on a contingency fee basis.
Who is United Homes Group?
United Homes Group is the parent company of Great Southern Homes, which is a residential builder with market footprints in South Carolina, Georgia and, increasingly, North Carolina.
In 2004, Nieri founded Great Southern Homes. In 2023, he created United Homes Group, a publicly traded company, with Great Southern Homes under its umbrella.
On its website, the company boasts about being one of the top builders of affordable homes for first-time or first move-up buyers in the Southeast.
Last year, the company reported that it sold over 1,300 homes and acquired two home builders. It constructs homes in several regions in South Carolina, including the Midlands, the Upstate and the Pee Dee.
