Pension Plans Named as BofA Suit Lead Plaintiffs

July 2, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal judge in New York has tapped a group of public pension funds as lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Bank of America (BofA) over allegations of misconduct during the bank's Merrill Lynch acquisition.

A Reuters news report said the lead plaintiff group includes the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System of Texas.

The group of funds beat competition from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). (See Public Pension Group Vies for Lead Plaintiff in BoA Suit )

The investors say the bank misled them over the state of Merrill’s health ahead of the deal closing on January 1, even as it was becoming clear that losses were mounting. Merrill eventually suffered a $15.84 billion loss.

The case is Sklar v. Bank of America Corp, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-00580.

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