A New York state appellate court has clamped down on an attempt by a group of hedge funds to get around the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison decision. Reversing a lower court ruling, the appellate panel found that the hedge funds were barred from suing Porsche AG because neither the defendant nor most of the plaintiffs are New York state residents. The litigation was sparked by Porsche's 2008 announcement that it had amassed close to a 75 percent stake in Volkswagen, which was a disaster for hedge funds that had shorted VW's stock or made swap deals based on its share price.

For five years, Wells Fargo has fought to get the U.S. government to refund the bank $82 million in taxes. But a federal judge in Minnesota on Friday ruled that the underlying transaction was a "sham" transaction and a tax shelter, and disallowed any refund.