Simpson Thacher Secures Win In Preliminary Injunction Hearing For OceanFirst
On Tuesday, March 31, Simpson Thacher secured a win for client OceanFirst Financial Corp. (“OceanFirst”), the holding company for the New Jersey financial institution OceanFirst Bank, when the Court denied a preliminary injunction in a dispute surrounding OceanFirst’s planned $579 million acquisition of New York financial institution Flushing Bank.
On March 23, 2026, Plaintiff Joel Zalvin filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin the pending vote on the merger, arguing that the proxy omitted material information. Defendants opposed on multiple fronts, including forum, standing, equitable and merits objections. On March 31, 2026, Judge Craig L. Wellerson for the General Equity Division of the Superior Court for Ocean County, New Jersey denied Plaintiff’s motion from the bench, finding that Plaintiff had failed to show any likelihood of success on the merits and that the balance of harms tipped against the preliminary injunction.
The Simpson Thacher team included Stephen Blake, Breana Sicley and Samantha Jumper.