Baltimore lawyer Stephen Snyder settles with BB&T

Baltimore litigator Stephen L. Snyder has settled a $10.3 million confessed judgment filed against him by Branch Banking & Trust Co.

The confidential settlement was reached Tuesday during a mediation session with Judge Kathleen G. Cox in Baltimore County Circuit Court. A motions hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday morning and a trial had been set for the end of July.

“The parties are pleased they have resolved the issues between them in a mutually satisfactory manner,” lawyers for both sides said in a joint statement.

BB&T filed its action against Snyder on March 17, alleging he defaulted on an $8.5 million line of credit, plus interest, and claimed attorneys’ fees.

Snyder made a $5 million good-faith payment last month, and his lawyers argued he had paid his debt after BB&T refused to honor First Mariner Bank’s March 1 agreement to buy the loan for that amount.

Snyder initially borrowed $5 million from BB&T in October 2007, according to court records. His lawyers had said he needed the loan because his large cases require upfront cash in order to be successful.