Bank of America agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Countrywide employees claiming the financial giant failed to protect their retirement accounts. Central District of California Judge will hear the $55 million Employee Retirement Security Act violations claim settlement agreement.
California business litigation lawyer alert-Bank of America agrees to settle Countrywide Financial Corp., employee retirement plan lawsuit for $55 million.
Los Angeles, CA–Bank of America (BofA) can’t seem to escape nationwide civil litigation and government lawsuits with numerous different accusations, which, basically surrounds the questionable handling and managing of bank funds regarding share holder accounts and now pension plans. As reported by Reuters on Monday, August 10, 2009, Bank of America http://www.Bankofamerica.com agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Countrywide employees regarding the mishandling of their retirement accounts. The agreed settlement amount according to court documents is $55 million. The settlement agreement will go for approval before U.S. Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California on August 31, 2009.
Will lawyers for Bank of America have better luck in the Central District of California court room as opposed to the banking attorneys representing the nation’s largest banking institution in a New York federal court room? The other ongoing case before Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan U.S. District Court was brought by government lawyers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) http://www.sec.gov and involves the purchase of Merrill Lynch, false statements to shareholders, and the questionable $5.8 billion in Merrill executive bonuses plus the $45 billion in tax payer bailout funds. Judge Rakoff, in an unprecedented ruling, refused to accept the $33 million settlement agreement between Bank of America and the SEC.
California court documents reveal business litigation attorneys representing employees of Countrywide claim Countrywide Financial Corp., failed to sell the company’s shares which violated the Employee Retirement Security Act. Disgruntled Countrywide employees also state Countrywide Financial Corp., withheld valuable information from pension plan participants and violated their duty to protect their retirement accounts. Bank of America acquired Countrywide, who according to Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org services nine million mortgages totaling $1.4 trillion, on July 1, 2008, amid speculations the financial banking institution was saving the mortgage giant from eventual bankruptcy. Countrywide has been under federal investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) http://www.fbi.gov for possible fraudulent activities in home loans and mortgages. Bank of America executives have yet to admit to any wrong doing in either of the above ongoing legal actions. Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an international banking and financial giant. BofA serves clients in over 150 countries and maintains relationships with 99 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Wikipedia also reports the mega financial services company serves 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Kenneth D. Lewis is the current President and CEO and as of February 2009 heads the American company with 171,587 employees.
Legal news reporter Heather L. Ryan providing information for California business litigation lawyers.