Judge Castel Grants Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification in Bank of America Case

February 6, 2012

On February 6, 2012, Judge P. Kevin Castel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Lead Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of Class Representatives and Class Counsel in In re Bank of America Corp. Securities, Derivative and “ERISA” Litigation, No. 09-MD-2058 (S.D.N.Y.). The class action alleges that Bank of America violated the federal securities laws by making material misrepresentations and failing to disclose material information relating to the company’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. In its Memorandum and Order certifying the Class, the Court rejected Defendants’ arguments that the misrepresentations and omissions alleged by Lead Plaintiffs regarding Merrill’s fourth quarter losses and undisclosed bonus agreement were not material, and determined that Lead Plaintiffs and the Class could pursue a direct claim for monetary relief under Section 14(a).

For more information, see Judge Castel’s Opinion.

Kaplan Fox is the court appointed co-lead counsel in the case against Bank of America.

Kaplan Fox attorneys Frederic S. Fox, Donald R. Hall, Hae Sung Nam, Joel B. Strauss, Robert N. Kaplan, Laurence D. King, Melinda D. Campbell, Irina Kobylevsky, and Damien H. Weinstein are working on this matter.