Facts

Plumbers' & Pipefitters' Local #562 Supplemental Plan & Trust and others filed a securities class action against J.P. Morgan Acceptance Corp. I. The suit was filed on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities that purchased beneficial interests in various mortgage-backed certificates.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs asserted strict liability and negligence claims for violations of the Securities Acts of 1933, based on the sale of $36.3 billion worth of mortgage-backed certificates. The certificates were securities entitling the holders to payments from pools of mortgage loans, and were sold in 33 offerings from 2006 to 2007.

The certificates were initially acquired by JP Morgan, and then marketed to institutional investors. Moody's Investor Services Inc. and other rating agencies rated the certificates as over 90 percent, meaning they were a safe investment. However, plaintiffs asserted that these ratings had been unjustifiably high. They further alleged that the Offering Documents for the certificates contained false and misleading statements regarding the underwriting standards used in connection with them, and the appraisal standards used to evaluate the properties serving as collateral for them.

Result

The court preliminarily approved of a class, for settlement purposes, that consisted of those investors who purchased certificates in 26 offerings. The parties settled for $280 million.