Court Approves $600 Million Settlement To Resolve Suit Against Countrywide, KPMG

LOS ANGELES—A federal judge granted final approval Feb. 25 to a $600 million—plus settlement of a class action lawsuit that said now-defunct mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. misled investors in its mortgage-backed securities, and that its accounting firm, KPMG LLP engaged in reckless auditing practices associated with those securities (In re Countrywide Financial Corp. Securities Litigation).

The settlement represents the largest such settlement arising from the recent financial crisis, and is one of the larger settlements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, lead plaintiff attorney Joel H. Bernstein of Labaton Sucharow told BNA Feb. 28

The preliminary ...