Bank of America (BAC) asked U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan to throw out a jury verdict finding it liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit that resulted in a $1.27 billion penalty, according to an article in Reuters.
The bank urged the judge to rule for it as a matter of law or order a new trial, arguing that the evidence at trial did not support the jury's October 2013 verdict.
Bank of America said prosecutors were required at trial to prove that loans originated by Countrywide Financial Corp in a process called "Hustle" that were then sold to government mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not as good as the lender represented.
This comes shortly after the bank announced a $16.65 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, certain federal agencies and six states to resolve claims over toxic residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and an origination release on residential mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
