Offbeat | Bofa agrees to pay USD300m to settle Vegas casino suit

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay USD300 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed the bank improperly disbursed funds to a Las Vegas casino development that went bust following the 2008 financial crisis.
A settlement could resolve legal wrangling over Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC’s project and Bank of America’s part in administering a credit facility to construct it. Fontainebleau and affiliates filed for bankruptcy in Miami in 2009, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought the unfinished Las Vegas project for about $150 million in 2010.
Loan holders, including hedge funds Avenue Capital Group and Brigade Capital Management, sued Bank of America for making payments on the credit facility for too long. The lenders had sought damages of more than $700 million, Bank of America said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. “Pursuant to the settlement, plaintiffs have stipulated to the voluntary dismissal of their remaining claims with prejudice,” the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said.