Judge Dismisses $24 Billion Lawsuit Against Credit Suisse

By Patrick Fitzgerald 

A federal judge has dismissed a $24 billion lawsuit accusing Credit Suisse of running a predatory loan-to-own scheme that plaintiffs claimed loaded four luxury ski and golf resorts with debt so it could foreclose on their assets.

Judge Justin L. Quackenbush of the U.S. District Court in Idaho granted a request from Credit Suisse and real-estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield for summary judgment, dismissing the suit and handing a big victory to the two companies in a six-year-long legal battle involving ultra-luxe vacation resorts in the Caribbean and western U.S.

The lawsuit, filed in 2010 on behalf of more than 3,000 homeowners, property owners and other investors, accused Credit Suisse of piling the resorts up with debt during the real-estate boom so it could foreclose on their assets.

The property owners accused Cushman of aiding Credit Suisse's purported scheme by creating a property-appraisal methodology that artificially inflated the resorts' values.

Representatives for the property owners, Credit Suisse and Cushman weren't immediately available for comment.

Write to Patrick Fitzgerald at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2016 17:11 ET (21:11 GMT)

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