On Friday the Federal Housing Finance Agency and its lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan crossed a major hurdle in their pursuit of claims against issuers of residential mortage-backed securities. In this 66-page page order, Manhattan federal district judge Denise Cote sided with the FHFA, the conservator of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, denying a motion to dismiss claims against UBS filed by the bank’s lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
The ruling is a big victory for Quinn and the FHFA. The findings directly affect all 15 FHFA cases before Cote, who had stayed discovery in those cases pending her ruling on UBS’s motion. The FHFA originally filed suits last September against a who’s who of the financial industry, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America’s Countrywide unit. Quinn’s Philippe Selendy and Skadden’s Jay Kasner were appointed liaison counsel in the the consolidated cases before Cote in December.
