Financial



City of Philadelphia Files Class Action Antitrust Lawsuit Over Interest Rate Swaps as Part of MDL

Recently, the City of Philadelphia initiated a class action lawsuit in Illinois federal court against a number of world financial institutions, claimed they violated federal antitrust law in colluding to prevent the purchase and sale of interest rate swaps (IRS). The lawsuit, filed May 23, claims Bank of America Corp, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and a host of …



Inglewood Cooked Its Books to Lure NFL Team, Former Accounting Manager Says

The lure of the NFL was just too much for Inglewood, a former city employee charges in a federal lawsuit. Barbara Ohno, Inglewood’s former budget and accounting manager, claims that the future home of the Los Angeles Rams massaged its accounting books to mask its financial problems. In the complaint, Ohno says that Mayor James T. Butts ordered employees to “create a facade of financial …


Banks Fight Rule on Class-Action Suits

Banks keep saying over and over that arbitration proceedings, as opposed to class-action lawsuits, are the best way for consumers to handle disputes. Yet faced with the prospect of no longer being able to deny consumers the right to sue them, the banking industry is expected to take the deliciously ironic step of suing the federal government. At issue is a proposed rule from the Consumer …


Local Banks Say Arbitration Often Not Required, Rarely Used – Business

A new federal rule that would give bank customers greater ability to participate in class-action lawsuits drew criticism from the industry, but local community banks aren’t much worried. Small bank officials say their scale and more folksy approach keeps them out of court more effectively than crimping the rights of their customers in small print. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants …


Six Concussion Suits Are Filed Against Colleges and N.C.A.A.

Several former college football players filed class-action lawsuits Tuesday against their universities, conferences and the N.C.A.A., claiming negligence over their handling of head injuries. The spate of cases — six were filed Tuesday — marks a new effort by athletes seeking financial relief for what they say are the lasting effects from concussions sustained in their college careers. Among …


Give It a New Name

If government–or at least government regulators, apparatchiks and other place-holders–get their way, it’s going to be a lot easier to sue your bank. Just what this country needs. …


No More Mandatory Arbitration for Consumer Financial Products?

CFPB Proposal Would Effectively Eliminate Most Pre-Dispute Consumer Arbitrations To no one’s surprise, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed rules on May 5, 2016 that will effectively, if promulgated as expected, eliminate most pre-dispute arbitrations arising out of the sale of consumer financial products. As detailed below, the proposed rules would, among other things: (1) …