Even though the rejected Securities and Exchange Commission settlement with Bank of America for alleged disclosure deficiencies in BofA’s merger with Merrill Lynch has been getting all the attention, the securities class action against the company that’s pending in New York federal district court could end up being more important — at least in terms of BofA’s liability.
On Monday, the lead plaintiffs in the case — an ad hoc group of public pension funds from Texas, Ohio, the Netherlands and Sweden — filed their consolidated class action complaint against BofA, certain directors and officers (including Kenneth Lewis), and former Merrill CEO John Thain. The highly detailed 155-page complaint (pdf) is available at the Web site for the Ohio attorney general.
