WETTICK PARTIALLY SUSTAINS PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS BY J P MORGAN COMPANIES AND RATING AGENCIES IN MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES LITIGATION. FOUR MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CASES PROCEED TO DISCOVERY PHASE.
The securities suit brought by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh against a group of J P Morgan companies and the rating agencies they used, filed last year in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, is being closely watched as a bellweather for similar cases filed by others in the FHLB system. One commentator saw the ruling in Pittsburgh as a positive sign for FHLB plaintiffs in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Indianapolis, whose cases have not yet advanced to this point, since the Pittsburgh FHLB’s case survived preliminary objections on general allegations of fraud.