Defendant Name:
Bank of America Corporation
Defendant Type:
Public Company
Document Reference:
LR-21377
Document Details
Legal Case Name
SEC v. Bank of America Corporation
Document Name
SEC Charges Bank of America for Failing to Disclose Extraordinary Losses at Merrill Lynch Prior to Merger
Document Date
12-Jan-2010
Document Format
Civil Proceeding
Case Number
10-cv-00215
Federal District Court
New York, Southern District of New York
Federal District Judge
Jed S. Rakoff
Allegation Type
Other
Document Summary
On January 12, 2010, the SEC issued a litigation release announcing that it charged Bank of America: "with violating the deferral proxy rules by failing to disclose extraordinary financial losses at Merrill Lynch prior to a shareholder vote to approve a merger between the two companies....Today's filing follows yesterday's ruling by the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff that the SEC's proposed charges relating to the Merrill losses should be filed separately rather than being consolidated with the current complaint challenging the bonus disclosure."
Related Documents:
Complaint
On January 12, 2010, the SEC filed a complaint against Bank of America Corporation. The SEC alleges that Bank of America violated "the federal proxy rules by failing to disclose extraordinary financial losses at Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc. prior to the shareholder vote to approve a merger between the two companies."
Bank of America Agrees to Pay $150 Million to Settle SEC Charges
On February 4, 2010, the SEC announced that it filed a motion seeking court approval of a proposed settlement whereby Bank of America Corporation "will pay $150 million and strengthen its corporate governance and disclosure practices to settle SEC charges that the company failed to properly disclose employee bonuses and financial losses at Merrill Lynch before shareholders approved the merger of the companies in December 2008."
Final Consent Judgment as to Defendant Bank of America Corporation
On February 24, 2010, Federal District Judge Jed S. Rakoff entered judgment against Bank of America Corporation pursuant to Bank of America Corporation's consent. Bank of America Corporation's consent and Judge's Rakoff's Final Judgment was with respect to civil actions 09-cv-06829 and 10-cv-00215.
court_doc40_10-cv-00215
16-Jul-2010
Court Docket Document
Plan of Distribution
The Court stated: "(a) the entire distribution, other than administrative costs, will be made to current and/or former BAC shareholders who were affected by the alleged non-disclosures that are the subjects of the Actions; (b) no distribution will be made to BAC shareholders with respect to any Merrill shares that were exchanged for BAC shares in the merger between BAC and Merrill on January 1, 2009; and (c) no distribution will be made to BAC or Merrill officers or directors and their related parties who had access to the allegedly undisclosed information that is subject of the Actions."
court_doc63_10-cv-00215
27-Jan-2014
Court Docket Document
Joint Status Report Pursuant to May 6, 2010 Order
The SEC and the Bank of America Corporation submitted a final report that stated: "After completing the distribution and paying all required expenses, the Distribution Agent .... remitted the remaining Fair Fund balance of $1,140,555 to the SEC. The SEC thereafter transferred this amount .... to the United States Treasury thereby concluding the Fair Fund distribution."