Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Bank of America (and Barlays) appeals ruling freezing LaSalle Bank purchase

See this article:
Bank of America Corp. filed an appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court on Tuesday over a ruling this month that froze the company's $21 billion purchase of LaSalle Bank from ABN Amro.
...
Hans de Savornin Lohman, a lawyer for Loyens & Loeff who filed the appeal on behalf of BofA, told Dow Jones Newswires he expects a ruling in the first week of July.

According to the BofA appeal, U.S. law, not Dutch law, should govern the sale of LaSalle, because the sale contract was drafted in the United States. BofA has also filed a suit against ABN Amro in New York Federal District Court to enforce its purchase of LaSalle.

The appeal also argues that even if ABN's shareholders needed to approve the sale, the Superior Court decision wrongly penalizes Bank of America for a possible mistake on the part of ABN Amro's management in agreeing to sell something it wasn't empowered to sell.

...
Supreme Court spokeswoman Evelien Hartogs said that Barclays was expected to file its own appeal Tuesday, and ABN on Wednesday, since "each has their own standpoint."



Strange world; when it so obvious that a sale can't be a true sale from, how can you honestly want to keep someone to the contract...?