A US judge has thrown out complaints by two former subsidiaries of Parmalat SpA against several banks and accounting firms over the Italian dairy company's 2003 collapse in Europe's largest bankruptcy, according to a ruling made public this week.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan dismissed the second amended complaints in cases filed by the two companies, Parmalat USA and Farmland Dairies LLC.
The defendants included Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Italy's Banca Nazionale del Lavoro and Banca Intesa, as well as accounting firms Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton International.
The two companies had alleged that the banks and accounting firms helped to conceal Parmalat's true financial condition, according to the ruling. Parmalat collapsed under about €14 billion of debt after uncovering a €4 billion hole in its accounts. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2005.
Parmalat USA, a holding company, was a unit of Parmalat and owner of Farmland, which sold dairy products in the US.
They filed for bankruptcy in February 2004, after Parmalat's collapse. Parmalat SpA said the companies were consequently forced out of the Parmalat group. It added the cases were independent from Parmalat SpA litigation which is pending in the same district court.
In March 2004, a bankruptcy court confirmed a liquidation plan for Parmalat USA and a modified reorganisation plan for Farmland.
The cases were brought by Gerald Smith, the litigation trustee of Farmland, and Peter Pappas, the administrator of the plan of liquidation of Parmalat USA. - (Reuters)
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