Continuing their mission to recover the nearly $20 million lost in an August investment, the City of Long Beach has filed a lawsuit against officers, directors and auditors of Lehman Brothers – the firm that accepted the City’s investment one week before filing for bankruptcy in the biggest financial institution collapse in U.S. history. Long Beach seeks punitive damages as a result of the financial firm’s misconduct, according to a press release.
“The factual circumstances leading up to Lehman’s bankruptcy filing as set forth in the complaint, reveal a pattern of unparalled misconduct by obscenely over compensated individuals,” reads a statement from City Attorney Robert Shannon. “We intend to aggressively pursue full recovery of our losses on behalf of the taxpayers of Long Beach.”
The City is also crossing its fingers for legislation proposed just weeks ago that will provide federal bailouts to cities that made investments in failed financial institutions.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor