(Reuters) – A Manhattan federal judge said the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme does not have standing to pursue common law claims against third parties said to violate a duty to those victims by failing to detect the fraud.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff is a major setback for the trustee, Irving Picard.
As part of the decision, Rakoff dismissed Picard’s common law claims in two of his largest lawsuits. HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) and affiliates are defendants in one lawsuit, while Italy’s UniCredit SpA (CRDI.MI) and Pioneer Alternative Investment Management Ltd are defendants in another. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by Carol Bishopric)