Most of the world's most powerful private equity firms must face an investor class action alleging that they conspired to drive down buy-out prices for publicly traded companies, a federal judge in Boston ruled Thursday.

Reports that UBS is close to reaching a deal with authorities investigating the alleged manipulation of global interest rates could be good news for private plaintiffs already pursuing LIBOR litigation against UBS and other institutions.

Those newly filed Merrill-related securities class actions aren't at the top of B of A's legal to-do list. First, the bank wants Robbins, Russell to erase that stinging asset-backed securities verdict.

The folks left out of the money in Washington Mutual Inc.'s proposed reorganization plan tried to exclude huge chunks of the testimony supporting a $7 billion settlement between WMI, JPMorgan, and the FDIC, arguing that it was based on privileged materials they weren't allowed to see. They get credit for trying--but not for succeeding.

It was inevitable that the collapse of the $300 billion auction-rate securities market in 2008 would trigger securities litigation. But the ARS freeze also spawned a massive antitrust case, after a trio of plaintiffs firms cooked up a theory that the market's demise was triggered by an illegal boycott on the part of major banks.

Plaintiffs lawyers don't like an opt-in feature of the $160 million settlement between UBS and states attorneys general, concerned it may unfairly siphon claimants out of their antitrust class action. A lawyer for New York state accuses those lawyers of "fabricating reasons" to oppose the settlement.