JeffCo Judge Nixes JPM Bid

A Jefferson County circuit court judge last week denied a motion by JPMorgan to dismiss a lawsuit against the investment bank filed by Jefferson County.

The county in November filed suit against JPMorgan, Blount Parrish & Co., Charles LeCroy, Douglas MacFaddin, Larry Langford, William Blount, and Albert LaPierre for their roles in the county’s refinancings and swaps related to $3.2 billion of variable- and auction-rate sewer debt.

The suit charges “fraud and fraudulent suppression, conspiracy, and unjust enrichment against those who have brought the county and its citizens to the brink of financial disaster while lining their own pockets.” The county is demanding a jury trial but a trial date has not been set.

All those named in the suit participated in some way with the sewer deals that turned sour after the market meltdown and liquidity support dried up for variable- and auction-rate bonds.

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