In what Attorney General Bill Schuette is calling “good news for Michigan taxpayers,” a national class-action securities fraud lawsuit against Bear Stearns and Deloitte & Touche has been settled for $295 million.
Hon. Robert Sweet, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, granted preliminary approval to the proposed suit, in which Michigan was court-appointed lead plaintiff.
As part of the deal, the defendants will pay investors nationwide — including State of Michigan Retirement Systems (SMRS) — after being misled about the value and risks of Bear Stearns’ mortgage-backed assets.
The amount SMRS will receive as part of the settlement will be finalized Sept. 19.
In a statement, Schuette called the settlement “good news for Michigan taxpayers. … [This] demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable any bank or investment firm that violates the public trust.”
Michigan contended that Bear Stearns and auditor Deloitte & Touche misled the state’s pension fund and other investors about risky exposure to the U.S. housing market and subsequent write-downs to its assets, which led to Bear Stearns and its stock collapsing.
The Michigan Lawyer 