The following is an excerpt from Jonathan Stempel in New York | December 27, 2011 | Huffingtonpost.com |
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency request to put its securities fraud lawsuit against Citigroup Inc on hold, saying a failure to delay the case would derail its proposed settlement with the bank and threaten “irreparable” harm.
Tuesday’s filing with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York seeks an expedited appeal of a November 28 decision by District Judge Jed Rakoff that harshly rejected the SEC’s $285 million accord with Citigroup.
Rakoff said that because the SEC did not require the New York-based bank to admit or deny its charges, he had no way to know whether the settlement was adequate.
But the SEC said the ruling was “legal error,” at odds with decades of court decisions allowing such settlements and letting investors get faster recoveries, and could affect its ability to reach similar accords with other companies.
According to Tuesday’s filing, Rakoff in a teleconference set a January 3, 2012 deadline for Citigroup to “answer” the SEC complaint, 27 days sooner than federal rules require.
An answer can force Citigroup to deny some or all of the SEC allegations, or seek to dismiss the case entirely.
But this….
For more please visit: huffingtonpost.com
