According to the Department of Justice, the suit was "potentially the most complex litigation ever brought in the federal courts with social and economic impacts without precedent and incredible potential litigation costs to all parties".
If they strike deals, they could avoid potentially costly litigation.
A New York Fed spokesman said it supported the settlement because it would generate significant value without potentially high litigation costs.
Supporters point out that it has no cost to taxpayers and avoids potentially expensive litigation by state lawyers.
Should that change (and there are signs it might), then manufacturers expose themselves to potentially ruinous litigation.Second, there is a moral dimension.
The idea of the spill fund is similar to that of the Sept. 11 fund: persuade people to accept settlements up front, rather than wait years for results of potentially costly litigation.
By day's end, a program that had been criticized as complicated, cold-hearted and ungenerous had achieved twin goals: offering billions of dollars in compensation to families for their pain and economic loss and to injured victims as well, while protecting the airlines whose planes were involved in the attacks from potentially ruinous litigation.
In a statement, Banco Popular's chief executive, Richard L. Carrion, said, "It is our firm belief that accepting the agreement is the preferred course of action -- one that avoids potentially protracted litigation that could have had a negative impact on the bank, our clients, our employees and the communities we serve.
If it's not any sort of fix of a real problem, Part I hardly seems worthy of expensive and potentially catastrophic litigation to defend.
Legal and accounting experts say that Ernst & Young could now face potentially damaging civil litigation by private plaintiffs or the Securities and Exchange Commission — or even criminal charges by the Justice Department.
