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Empresas y finanzas

Lawsuits against Goldman execs over Abacus merged


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York judge has combined two shareholder lawsuits against executives and directors of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and put the case on hold pending progress on resolving it and 16 related federal lawsuits.

    All of the lawsuits concern Abacus, a transaction that led to Goldman's agreement in July to pay $550 million to resolve a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud lawsuit.

    The regulator had accused Goldman of selling collateralized debt obligations without telling investors that hedge fund Paulson & Co had helped to choose and had bet against the underlying securities. Goldman settled without admitting wrongdoing, and the settlement has won court approval.

    In a Tuesday ruling, New York State Supreme Court Justice Richard Lowe merged two derivative lawsuits accusing Goldman officials including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein of breaching their fiduciary duties over Abacus.

    The judge also named Faruqi & Faruqi LLP and Gardy & Notis LLP co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the combined case.

    Nine other derivative lawsuits against Goldman officials related to Abacus are pending, including eight in Manhattan federal court and one in Delaware Chancery Court.

    Seven lawsuits accusing Goldman of violating federal securities laws with Abacus are pending in Manhattan federal court.

    Lowe directed the parties in the New York state case to provide a status report by October 1.

    The combined New York case is In re: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc Derivative Litigation, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 650318/2010.

    (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Ted Kerr)