http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Bank of America Corp. Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/135443 The Ohio attorney general has targeted the three leading ratings agencies with allegations of wreaking havoc on the U.S. financial markets by providing unjustified and inflated ratings of asset-backed securities in exchange for lucrative fees from securities issuers. http://www.law360.com/articles/135443 http://www.law360.com/articles/135600 Concluding the largest credit default swap auction to date, credit derivatives traders on Friday reportedly set a value of 68.125 cents on the dollar for bankrupt commercial lender CIT Group Inc.’s defaulted bonds. http://www.law360.com/articles/135600 http://www.law360.com/articles/135566 JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the first defendant to reach a settlement in a class action accusing it and other credit card companies of conspiring to force cardholders into arbitration to settle disputes, according to representatives for the plaintiff. http://www.law360.com/articles/135566 http://www.law360.com/articles/135498 NTK Holdings Inc. — the parent company of heating, ventilation and consumer technology manufacturer Nortek Inc. — has received approval to retain Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and a number of other professionals for its prepackaged bankruptcy case. http://www.law360.com/articles/135498 http://www.law360.com/articles/135268 Bankrupt commercial lender CIT Group Inc. has reported a strong showing among various constituencies of creditors in favor of its reorganization proposal, putting the company on a path to win approval for the Chapter 11 plan at a confirmation hearing Dec. 8. http://www.law360.com/articles/135268 http://www.law360.com/articles/135288 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton International have agreed to cough up $15 million to settle with a class of Parmalat SpA stockholders in a suit stemming from the Italian dairy giant's collapse. http://www.law360.com/articles/135288 http://www.law360.com/articles/135177 Real estate investment company FIG Global LLC has accused the executives of international investment banking company Royal Holdings LLC of cheating it out of more than $94.8 million by defaulting on a joint agreement to purchase prestigious resort properties in Portugal. http://www.law360.com/articles/135177 http://www.law360.com/articles/134863 Wells Fargo & Co. has reached agreements to buy back about $1.3 billion in auction rate securities and pay a $1.9 million penalty to the state regulators that investigated allegations the bank misled customers about the riskiness of the investment. http://www.law360.com/articles/134863 http://www.law360.com/articles/134764 An affiliate of Penn National Gaming Inc. has put in a $50 million stalking horse bid for bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings LLC's unfinished multibillion-dollar hotel and casino development on the Las Vegas Strip. http://www.law360.com/articles/134764 http://www.law360.com/articles/134839 A federal judge has partially lifted a discovery stay in a securities suit against Bank of America Corp. over its merger with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., providing the plaintiffs with access to the same documents the bank has already shown to several government agencies. http://www.law360.com/articles/134839 http://www.law360.com/articles/134537 Bank of America NA officials defended the company's purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. before the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, denying speculation that BofA's top lawyer was booted midtransaction for implying the bank had no legal grounds to pull out of the deal. http://www.law360.com/articles/134537 http://www.law360.com/articles/134700 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York failed to use its “considerable leverage” in negotiations in fall 2008 to reduce the amount of money it spent to help American International Group Inc. stay alive, according to a report assessing the U.S. government's involvement in the bailout. http://www.law360.com/articles/134700 http://www.law360.com/articles/134364 Asserting that the plaintiffs have failed to allege monopolistic practices despite ample discovery time, banks and credit unions in First Data Corp.’s Star electronic payment network have asked a judge to snuff out a long-standing proposed class action accusing the companies of fixing ATM service charges. http://www.law360.com/articles/134364 http://www.law360.com/articles/134013 The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has joined thousands of municipalities across the country in accusing financial giants Bank of America NA, UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co., among many others, of rigging the bids offered in municipal derivatives auctions. http://www.law360.com/articles/134013 http://www.law360.com/articles/133987 Bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have resolved millions of dollars in secured and unsecured claims related to the consumer electronics retailer's sale of HP products, with both parties agreeing to reduce HP's claims to $70.5 million. http://www.law360.com/articles/133987 http://www.law360.com/articles/133769 The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. hedge fund case was the first criminal prosecution filed over the financial system's near total collapse in 2008, and was seen as a bellwether for future prosecutions. After losing in their first outing, the U.S. government will take a long look at its strategy moving forward, former prosecutors say. http://www.law360.com/articles/133769 http://www.law360.com/articles/133820 Medical diagnostic testing company Quest Diagnostics Inc. announced Thursday it will offer $750 million in senior notes in a bid to buy back other outstanding debt. http://www.law360.com/articles/133820 http://www.law360.com/articles/133746 A Delaware state court has tossed Third Avenue Management LLC's allegations that two subsidiaries of bond insurer MBIA Inc. defrauded debt holders in a corporate restructuring that split MBIA's public finance insurance business from its structured finance insurance business, ruling that the case should be decided in New York. http://www.law360.com/articles/133746 http://www.law360.com/articles/133730 The ad hoc committee of noteholders in FairPoint Communications Inc.’s Chapter 11 case has withdrawn its request for the appointment of an examiner, just weeks after the telecommunications company’s business plan and public statements leading up to its filing were found to be unreliable due to either obfuscation or incompetence. http://www.law360.com/articles/133730 http://www.law360.com/articles/133704 Bankrupt commercial lender CIT Group Inc. has asked the court to approve Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as special counsel and Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP as conflicts counsel, following the appointment of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP as lead counsel. http://www.law360.com/articles/133704