PennyMac to add 325 Tennessee jobs
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. plans to invest $3.9 million to open a new 325-employee office in Franklin, Tennessee.
Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, Pennymac is expanding its West Coast operations to Tennessee by establishing a new mortgage origination center “allowing us to join a thriving business community with a superb talent pool,” PennyMac President Doug Jones said in the announcement of the expansion this week.
Founded in 2008, the corporation currently assists more than 2 million customers nationwide and has over 7,000 employees across 16 locations. In 2021, Pennymac ranked fourth in Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies in the world.
“The number of California companies choosing to do business in Tennessee is growing at a rapid pace, and we are pleased to welcome Pennymac’s newest operations to our state,” said Bob Rolfe, commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
State warns of scam about fake certificates
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett is warning Tennessee business owners about a scam that has recently resurfaced targeting businesses with a deceptive mailer from a company that goes by the names “Tennessee Certificate Service” and “TN Certificate of Existence Filing Company.”
“We have seen scams like this before, with similar deceptive language that implies that businesses must have a Certificate of Existence to complete its formation or to fully operate in the state,” Hargett said in a statement released by his office. “This is not the case. Unfortunately, businesses who order a Certificate of Existence through these scammers may be paying an exorbitant amount for something that is totally unnecessary or would only cost $20 through our office.”
Hargett said the misleading mailer titled 2022 Certificate of Existence Request has been sent to businesses across the state, purporting that all Tennessee businesses are required to pay a fee of either $83 or $175.50. The mailer makes it appear that the 2022 Certificate of Existence Request is part of the business entity’s registration process, but Hargett said “the mailer and organization are not affiliated with or authorized by the Secretary of State’s Office in any way.”
3M fined $110 million for defective earplugs
A Florida jury handed down a $110 million verdict against 3M in the latest trial over the company’s allegedly defective earplugs — a sum twice the size as all other related earplug verdicts combined.
The case was the latest in a series of bellwether trials that are meant to shape potential settlements for large-scale litigation on the issue. Claims have been filed by more than 250,000 veterans and military personnel alleging they suffered hearing loss while wearing a certain type of Combat Arms earplugs.
3M, which stopped selling Combat Arms CAEv2 earplugs in 2015, has maintained the product was effective and that “in some situations, such as combat scenarios, it is undisputed that even robust protection cannot prevent some hearing loss.”
Ronald Sloan and William Wayman, both Army veterans, late Thursday were awarded compensatory and punitive damages after convincing the jury the Maplewood-based company was to blame for their hearing loss.
The company said in a statement Friday it will appeal the verdict.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner