Countrywide Financial Corp. ($624 million settlement pending) and Bank of America.
KL was requested by Lead Counsel in the In re Countrywide Securities Litigation, No. CV-07-5295 MRP (MANx) (C.D. Cal.), to assist in the proesecution of the action, with principal focus on establishing liability on the part of the Outside Directors of Countrywide. KL partner Jeffrey Klafter deposed five of the Outside Directors, assisted in drafting responses to contention interrogatories propounded by the Outside Directors on liability issues and were in the process of preparing responses to summary judgment motions made by the Outside Directors when a $624 million settlement was reached on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the publicly traded securities of Countrywide during the period between March 12, 2004 and March 7, 2008. The action concerned alleged material misrperesentations and omissions by Countrywide, its Directors, senior officers, accountants and underwriters in violation of the Federal Securities Laws concerning Countrywide’s loan origination and underwriting practices in providing residential mortgages, securitizing of those residential mortgages into mortgage-backed securities, reserves for mortgages, and alleged violations of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the preparation of Countrywide’s publicly issued financial statements and disclosures. The settlement is subject to Court approval. If finally approved by the Court, it will be the 13th largest securities class action settlement in the history of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.