New York Times, "Ohio Sues Rating Firms for Losses in Funds"
Already facing a spate of private lawsuits, the legal troubles of the country's largest credit rating agencies deepened on Friday when the attorney general of Ohio sued Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, claiming that they had cost state retirement and pension funds some $457 million by approving high-risk Wall Street securities that went bust in the financial collapse.
The case could test whether the agencies' ratings are constitutionally protected as a form of free speech. The lawsuit asserts that Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch were in league with the banks and other issuers, helping to create an assortment of exotic financial instruments that led to a disastrous bubble in the housing market.
Lieff Cabraser is among the private law firms assisting the attorney general's office in the suit. Read the full article on the New York Times website.
