J.P. Morgan to Settle Enron 'Megaclaims' Suit
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 16, 2005
Filed at 9:03 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two banks agreed on Tuesday to pay at least $420 million to settle their parts of the ''Megaclaims'' lawsuit filed by Enron against 10 banks, alleging they ''aided and abetted fraud'' and could have prevented the energy trader's collapse.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $350 million in cash to Enron Corp. and Toronto Dominion Bank agreed to pay $70 million. The companies also will forgo certain claims in Enron's bankruptcy proceedings while agreeing to pay more money to Enron for the ability to pursue others.
Enron said the bankruptcy claims that are part of the JPMorgan settlement have a value of $660 million, and that the settlement with JPMorgan could reach up to $1 billion. Toronto Dominion agreed to forgo claims value at almost $56 million, while paying $60 million to allow claims valued at $320 million that the company transferred to third parties.
New York-based JPMorgan said it does not expect its settlement, which is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court, to have a ''material adverse impact'' on earnings.
''With today's agreement, we have put behind us another significant piece of our Enron exposure,'' said William B. Harrison Jr., JPMorgan's chairman and CEO, in a prepared statement....
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Enron-Megaclaims.html