$24 Billion Lawsuit Filed Against Credit Suisse

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January 4, 2010 Monday 2:27 PM GMT

SECTION: BUSINESS NEWS

LENGTH: 132 words

HEADLINE: $24 billion lawsuit filed against Credit Suisse

DATELINE: BOISE Idaho

Property owners at four struggling and bankrupt resorts in Idaho, Montana, Nevada and the Bahamas have filed a $24 billion federal lawsuit against Credit Suisse, saying the bank gave predatory loans to the resorts’ investors as part of a scheme to take over the properties.

Property owners at Idaho’s Tamarack Resort, the Yellowstone Club in Montana, Nevada’s Lake Las Vegas resort and the Gin Sur Mer Resort in the Bahamas filed the lawsuit in Boise’s U.S. District Court on Sunday. They are seeking class-action status.

The property owners contend that Credit Suisse set up a branch in the Cayman Islands to skirt U.S. federal banking regulations and appraised the resorts at artificially inflated values as part of a plan to foreclose.

Attorneys for Credit Suisse could not be immediately reached.

LOAD-DATE: January 4, 2010