Working for a contingency fee, Martin Klotz pursued a vexatious litigation suit for hedge fund client S.A.C. Capital Advisors after it was targeted with an unsuccessful $4 billion RICO suit by Biovail Pharmaceuticals.

Cite as: Lopez v. Terrell, 10-2079-pr, NYLJ 1202500705125, at *1 (2d Cir., Decided July 13, 2011)Before: Newman, Calabresi, Hall, C.JJ.De

The SEC's woes continue. Judge Ellen Huvelle has sided with critics who questioned why Citi shareholders will have to pay for their own victimization while unnamed senior execs get off scot-free for hiding some $40 billion in subprime exposure. She wants more information from both sides before she'll accept the deal.

The Delaware Chancery Court tossed shareholder claims against Attachmate and Elliott Associates over Attachmate's $2.2 billion acquisition of Novell in 2010, but the court ruled that Novell board members can't dodge claims that they acted in bad faith in favoring Attachmate's bid over others.

A federal judge in Manhattan certified a global class of investors who sank billions into Fairfield Greenwich funds that fed Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. But the judge excluded investors in 25 countries, singling out nations ranging from France, Switzerland, Israel, and China to the tiny islands of Picairn and Tokelau.

The brokerage customers had their complaint dismissed with prejudice in 2008. But they will still benefit from a settlement that will also resolve claims by Refco's bankruptcy trustee against private equity firm Thomas H. Lee.

It was a good Monday for Bank of America, its executives, and its outside lawyers. First the SEC announced that it would not charge any individuals with disclosure failures in the bank's merger with Merrill Lynch. Then the federal judge overseeing the case denied the SEC's request to beef up charges against the bank.