It's always foolish to read too much into the questions that judges pose during appellate oral arguments. But if we were among the lawyers challenging Bank of America's $8.5 billion proposed settlement with mortgage-backed securities investors, we'd be feeling a little nervous after arguments on Wednesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

David Grais and other lawyers representing mortgage-backed securities investor groups say new details about how the gigantic settlement was negotiated "raise more questions than they answer."

The Eleventh Circuit handed the tobacco industry its latest setback on Friday in the crush of cases spawned by Engle v. Liggett Group, making the chances for a Supreme Court intervention look even slimmer.

Plaintiffs lawyers at Scott + Scott who persuaded a judge not to dismiss claims against BNY Mellon say the decision could spell trouble for other mortgage-backed securities trustees. Even if it doesn't, the ruling is already giving Countrywide investors new ammunition to disrupt BofA's proposed $8.5 billion MBS settlement.

"They know darn well what's taking place," said Gibson Dunn's Theodore Olson, referring to the presence of infringing videos on YouTube. "This allows them to continue to make vast amounts of money off their enterprise, and that's wrong."