http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Countrywide Financial Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/134053 A suit launched by 26 Alabama residents who claim Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. misled them into believing funds invested in mortgage-backed securities and shaky financial institutions were safe investments is headed back to state court, a federal judge has ruled. http://www.law360.com/articles/134053 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/131088 A federal appeals court has revived a dismissed proposed class action brought by homebuyers accusing Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and its reinsurer unit, Balboa Reinsurance Co., of engaging in a kickback scheme that could reduce competition among private mortgage insurance providers. http://www.law360.com/articles/131088 http://www.law360.com/articles/130653 Plaintiffs counsel Keller Rohrback LLP and Braun Law Group PC have asked a judge to award about $14 million in fees and expenses in a class action accusing Countrywide Financial Corp. of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in its treatment of a 401(k) plan. http://www.law360.com/articles/130653 http://www.law360.com/articles/130189 Days after reportedly locking Republicans out of committee meetings to avoid being forced to subpoena lending records from Countrywide Financial, U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee chairman Ed Towns, D-N.Y., announced that the committee will issue a subpoena after all. http://www.law360.com/articles/130189 http://www.law360.com/articles/127959 A group of homeowners in Washington state is seeking class certification in a consolidated truth-in-lending suit accusing Countrywide Financial Corp. of misleading borrowers about the terms of their mortgage loans. http://www.law360.com/articles/127959 http://www.law360.com/articles/128011 Homebuilding company KB Home Inc., which recently came under fire for alleged stock options backdating, has now disclosed a government investigation “regarding possible accounting and disclosure issues.” http://www.law360.com/articles/128011 http://www.law360.com/articles/127781 A federal judge has declined to weigh in on whether a state-law class action linked to the collapse of mortgage-backed securities issued by a Countrywide Financial Corp. subsidiary was preempted by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, saying the state court was capable of rendering judgment. http://www.law360.com/articles/127781 http://www.law360.com/articles/126889 A federal appeals court has remanded a $34 million verdict against American International Group Inc. and its subsidiaries for fraud involving reinsurance contracts, saying a lower court must address AIG's assertion that it never waived its right to arbitration. http://www.law360.com/articles/126889 http://www.law360.com/articles/126668 A federal judge has tossed the bulk of claims brought by an American International Group Inc. mortgage insurer in a suit accusing Countrywide Financial Corp. of fraud, breach of contract and negligence over insurance policies it took out for subprime mortgage securities. http://www.law360.com/articles/126668 http://www.law360.com/articles/126538 Seeking to step up the mortgage services it offers to companies, IBM Corp. has penned a deal to take over the core operating assets of Bank of America Corp.’s mortgage subsidiary Wilshire Credit Corp. http://www.law360.com/articles/126538 http://www.law360.com/articles/125226 Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC said Tuesday that it has hired former District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer and her former Chief of Staff Betsy Miller to lead its new public client practice group, which will help state attorneys general, nonprofits and unions in lawsuits on behalf of the public interest and focus on competition, consumer, employment and securities litigation. http://www.law360.com/articles/125226 http://www.law360.com/articles/123183 A federal judge has axed nearly all the allegations in a putative class action brought by Washington mortgage borrowers against Bank of America Corp. unit Countrywide Home Loans Inc. over alleged improper fees tacked on to loan costs, but allowed the plaintiffs to amend allegations of unfair or deceptive business practices. http://www.law360.com/articles/123183 http://www.law360.com/articles/121621 Although it may be too early to assess fully the impact of subprime litigation on the insurance industry, developments during the past several months suggest that the subprime crisis may not give rise to significant coverage litigation, say H. Christopher Boehning and Douglas M. Pravda of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/121621 http://www.law360.com/articles/120209 The Delaware Chancery Court has awarded class counsel $750,000 — roughly half of what the firms initially requested — for representing Countrywide Financial Corp. shareholders in a settled suit over Bank of America Corp.’s $4 billion takeover of the mortgage underwriter. http://www.law360.com/articles/120209 http://www.law360.com/articles/118703 The plaintiffs in a putative class action by investors accusing Countrywide Financial Corp. of securities fraud have indicated that they will soon file for class certification in the case. http://www.law360.com/articles/118703 http://www.law360.com/articles/118416 A Delaware Chancery Court judge has approved a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp. and its shareholders, who alleged executives at the nation's former largest residential mortgage underwriter breached their fiduciary duty in connection with Bank of America Corp.'s $4 billion takeover of the company. http://www.law360.com/articles/118416 http://www.law360.com/articles/117510 A federal judge has remanded to state court a suit brought by investors in mortgage-backed securities challenging Countrywide Financial Corp.'s plans to modify troubled loans in a multibillion-dollar settlement with more than a dozen state attorneys general, and Bank of America NA has vowed to appeal the decision. http://www.law360.com/articles/117510 http://www.law360.com/articles/117260 Branch account executives at Countrywide Financial Corp.'s Full Spectrum Lending Inc. unit are urging a federal judge to sign off on a notice alerting potential class members to a long-running lawsuit over allegedly unpaid overtime wages. http://www.law360.com/articles/117260 http://www.law360.com/articles/116413 The federal judge in charge of a putative class action accusing Countrywide Financial Corp. of securities fraud has granted investors' bid to strike an expert witness affidavit opposing class certification, which they argued the lender filed too late. http://www.law360.com/articles/116413