Bank of America lawsuit dismissed
The Advertiser
reports
"U.S. District Judge David Ezra has dismissed a lawsuit by a group of Native
Hawaiians seeking to halt a merger sought by Bank of America, saying that he
lacked jurisdiction to act and that the group lacked standing to bring the suit.
Ezra's written decision was issued late Monday, but he hinted strongly that he
would dismiss the case during a Thursday court hearing. The suit was an attempt
to compel the Federal Reserve Board to block the Bank of America's merger with
FleetBoston until the bank first fulfilled a 10-year-old commitment to issue
$150 million in mortgage loans to Hawaiian Home Lands homesteaders. That
commitment was made in 1994 after the Hawai'i Fair Lending Coalition accused the
bank of discriminating against Hawaiians in its lending
practices."But this was only after he
strongly scolded the Federal Reserve Board at a previous hearing , called
the situation an embarrassment, and said he hopes that if he dismisses the
lawsuit based on jurisdictional issues, it will not be taken as a signal the
case is without merit.
Posted: Wed - February 25, 2004 at 07:02 AM