Another Bid for Privileged WaMu Documents Fails

A group of Texas bondholders became the latest group to make a grab for records of communication between Washington Mutual and its attorneys, and like most of those who came before them, the bondholders have failed to get what they wanted, according to court records and lawyers involved in the case.

Shareholders of WaMu and other parties in the case, including JPMorgan Chase, have previously tried to get their hands on privileged communications, according to our prior reporting. The latest party to do so is a group of bondholders who claim they are getting squeezed out in WaMu’s proposed plan to re-emerge from Chapter 11 protection and settle claims with JPMorgan in the process. JPMorgan purchased WaMu after the federal government placed WaMu in a receivership during the broader economic collapse in late 2008. Various WaMu stakeholders, including WaMu’s estate, have accused JPMorgan of contributing to WaMu’s downfall by leaking false information about it and discouraging potential white knight bidders.