$1 million settlement in Occupy pepper-spraying

  TERENCE CHEASAN FRANCISCO -- The University of California is set to pay about $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by demonstrators who were pepper-sprayed during an Occupy protest at UC Davis last fall.

UC and plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union filed the preliminary settlement in federal court in Sacramento on Wednesday. The agreement is subject to the approval of a federal judge.

Under the proposal, UC will pay out $30,000 to each of 21 plaintiffs named in the complaint and an additional $250,000 for their attorneys to split.

The settlement also calls for the UC to set aside $100,000 to pay other individuals who can prove they were arrested or pepper-sprayed during the Nov. 18, 2011, incident.

The chemical crackdown prompted campus protests and calls for the resignation of Chancellor Linda Katehi after online videos shot by witnesses went viral.

Images of an officer casually spraying orange pepper-spray in the faces of nonviolent protesters became a rallying point for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

A task force report released in April blamed the incident on poor communication and planning throughout the campus chain of command, from the chancellor to the pepper-spraying officers.

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Mortgage settlement between banks, states 'close'

  By DEREK KRAVITZWASHINGTON -- A $25 billion settlement between the nation's major banks and U.S. states over deceptive foreclosure practices during the housing crisis is nearing completion.

Five major banks - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) - and U.S. states are "very close," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday.

Separately, two officials briefed on internal discussions say a proposed deal could be announced within weeks. Negotiators are finalizing a draft of the agreement, which must be reviewed by state attorneys general. Under the deal, banks would pay states and the federal government, which would fund programs to compensate homeowners.

The two officials asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.

Talks have been dragging on for more than a year between major U.S. banks and state attorneys general over fraudulent foreclosure practices that drove millions of Americans from their homes during the housing crisis.

In October 2010, major banks temporarily suspended foreclosures following revelations of widespread deceptive foreclosure practices by banks. That has backlogged millions of foreclosures that must be cleared before the housing market can fully recover.

The settlement would only apply to privately held mortgages, not those held by government-controlled Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Fannie and Freddie own about half of all U.S. mortgages, roughly about 31 million U.S. home loans.

Individual states can opt out of the proposed deal. Some have disagreed over what terms to offer the banks.

In September, California announced it would not agree to a settlement over foreclosure abuses that state and federal officials have been working on for more than a year.

New York, Delaware, Nevada and Massachusetts, which sued five major banks earlier in December over deceptive foreclosure practices, have also argued that banks should not be protected from future civil liability.

And both sides have also fought over the amounts of money that should be placed in the reserve account for property owners who were improperly foreclosed upon. Many of the details of the deal, including a $25 billion cost for the banks, have been agreed upon, officials say.

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BofA in $335M settlement over Countrywide loans

(AP Photo)

  Eyewitness NewsBy PALLAVI GOGOI and NEDRA PICKLER -- Bank of America has agreed to pay $335 million to resolve allegations that its Countrywide unit engaged in a widespread pattern of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers.

The settlement with the U.S. Justice Department was filed Tuesday with the Central District court of California and is subject to court approval. The DOJ says it's the largest settlement in history over residential fair lending practices.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. bought the nation's largest subprime lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., in 2008.

The settlement amount will be used to compensate victims of Countrywide's discriminatory mortgage loans from 2004 through 2007.

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Madoff case trustee announces fund settlement

Bernard Madoff, chairman of Madoff Investment Securities, returns to his Manhattan apartment after making a court appearance Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

  NEW YORK -- A New York trustee recovering money for investors in Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff's fraud says the liquidators of a fund that put more than $7 billion in Madoff's hands have agreed to a deal that'll funnel 3 percent more money to burned investors with valid claims.

Trustee Irving Picard said Monday the deal was reached with liquidators of the now-defunct Fairfield Sentry Limited funds. The funds were managed by entities related to Madoff's largest feeder-fund operator.

Picard says the deal reduces Fairfield's claim against a fund paying claims of injured investors from $1.2 billion to $230 million. He says Fairfield also agreed to pay $70 million to be distributed to Madoff investors. Picard has agreed not to pursue a $3.8 billion judgment against Fairfield.

Fairfield liquidators haven't returned a call seeking comment. (Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

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