Federal investigation or no, the hits just keep coming for Bill Lerach & Co... CIBC's multi-billion dollar settlement officially makes the Enron debacle, in which Lerach was the lead plaintiff attorney, the undisputed top-dog when it comes to securities class action settlements. Enron's $7 billion total now surpasses the $6 billion garnered in Worldcom-related litigation, which was led by rival plaintiff counsel Sean Coffey of Bernstein Litowitz (link goes to a great article about Coffey - check it out).

Via CFO.com:

Enron Settlements Hit Record $7 Billion

With the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's $2.4 billion settlement, the energy giant pulls ahead of WorldCom. Also, Credit Suisse bulks up Enron litigation reserves.

by Stephen Taub, CFO.com
August 03, 2005

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's agreement late yesterday to pay $2.4 billion to settle a securities fraud class-action suit stemming from Enron Corp.’s bankruptcy brought the total amount recovered in litigation involving the company to $7.12 billion, according to William Lerach, of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, counsel for the University of California’s Board of Regents, the lead plaintiff.

The amount tops the $6.1 billion awarded to WorldCom investors, making the Enron settlements the largest sum ever recovered in a group of securities class-action lawsuits.

The CIBC pact is the largest settlement in the Enron litigation. Officials at the University of California alleged that CIBC participated in an elaborate scheme to defraud investors by helping Enron to inflate earnings, according to press reports.

CIBC management noted that the settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing, and that the company agreed to the settlement solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden, and expense of further protracted litigation. “By settling this case and maintaining what we believe are adequate reserves for our remaining Enron related legal issues, we can better focus our energies on our other priorities,” said Gerry McCaughey, president and chief executibe officer.

Through its Enron-related suits, The University of California has also recovered $2.2 billion from JPMorganChase, $2 billion from Citigroup, $222.5 million from Lehman Brothers, $69 million from Bank of America, $168 million from Enron’s outside directors, and $32 million from Andersen Worldwide.

The University will also secure a distribution of about $32 million for investors through the bankruptcy proceeding for the LJM2 partnership that was used as part of the Enron scheme to hide losses and inflate earnings....

Full article appears here.

-- MDT

Labels: Bernstein Litowitz and Berger, Enron, Sean Coffey