It’s a new year, but so far, the same old (sad) song continues to play for Bank of America Corporation in the courtroom of Manhattan federal district court judge Jed Rakoff, who’s overseeing the Securities and Exchange Commission‘s suit against the beleaguered bank.

On Monday, Rakoff ruled BofA cannot present expert testimony asserting that media reports should have alerted shareholders to the billions it planned to pay Merrill Lynch & Co. executives after the 2008 merger.