A federal judge initially approved that deal, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found the settlement improper.
The reduction in fees was sought by New York's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, and the S.E.C. repeated its opposition yesterday to including such cuts in settlements about improper trading.
The role of the court is only to ensure that the settlement is clear, resolves claims, does not involve collusion or corruption, and is not obviously illegal.In a carefully worded phrase, Mr Rakoff writes that he "cannot say" whether the settlement was improper so he would approve it.
Another interesting tidbit from the hearings: Joey Mogul, an attorney at the People's Law Office and one of the lead attorneys on the recent $6.2m Chicago Police Department settlement for improper arrests at the 2003 anti-war rallies – does anyone see a pattern?
He noted that the Justice Department's original complaint, filed in January, had alleged tens of millions of dollars in improper billing, and that the settlement was within that range.
In order to get a more realistic estimation, one has to take a closer look on these patches in order to eliminate those ones that in fact are not qualified for energy production due to reasons like being located in a preservation area, being close to settlement areas, having improper zoning restrictions, and other reasons.
With big banks inching closer to a settlement over allegedly improper foreclosures -- one that critics call too lenient -- progressive groups are calling on President Obama to get tougher on Wall Street.
And BofA joined Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and seven other banks in agreeing to an $8.5 billion settlement with regulators over improper procedures when processing home foreclosures.
The Janus Capital Group said yesterday that it would lower fees on its mutual funds as part of a $225 million settlement with regulators over improper trading in its funds.
The Janus Capital Group said that it would lower fees on its mutual funds as part of a $225 million settlement with regulators over improper trading in its funds.
