Federal judge approves final settlement in Wells Fargo investment case News
Federal judge approves final settlement in Wells Fargo investment case

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Minnesota [official website] on Monday approved a settlement for $62.5 million between Wells Fargo & Co [corporate website] and large institutional clients who lost money in an investment program known as securities lending. US District Judge Donovan Frank also awarded attorneys fees to the plaintiffs. The final settlement follows a preliminary settlement and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s [official website] rejection in June of Wells Fargo’s contention that the bank’s participation in the settlement [JURIST reports] should bar claims bring in a separate civil case.

US banking companies [JURIST backgrounder] have been under intense scrutiny in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. In April the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) [official website] ordered [JURIST report] Bank of America to pay $727 million for its illegal credit card practices. In January a New York state judge approved an $8.5 billion settlement between Bank of America and almost two dozen mortgage securities investors, holding that the 2011 agreement was reached in good faith. Also in January the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York [official website] entered into a deferred prosecution agreement [JURIST report] with JP Morgan Chase & Co [corporate website] which stipulates the bank will pay $1.7 billion to the US government for its role in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.