Delaware Chancery Court Judge Leo Strine delivered a scathing attack on lawyers who tried to pursue a derivative suit against Bank of America over its Countrywide purchase, saying that they failed to come up with a rational explanation for why BofA directors allegedly broke the law, Forbes.com reported yesterday. Delaware requires the lawyers to first ask the company to sue itself or prove that such a demand would be futile because the directors have conflicts that prevent them from acting in the company's best interests. Strine, in a ruling from the bench on Monday, said that lawyers at Cooch & Taylor and Pomerantz Grossman had not only failed to prove futility, but had tactically chosen not to cite records that might explain why directors had chosen to violate the law. He dismissed the suit without prejudice, saying that another plaintiff might find a valid reason to sue BofA directors over the Countrywide acquisition.
