JPMorgan Chase wins small legal victory, still fighting war over mortgage-backed securities

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused banking giant JPMorgan Chase of tricking investors into buying troubled mortgage-backed securities, the New York Times reported.

The ruling is against only one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs so JPMorgan is less vulnerable but not out of court. Another plaintiff, FSA Asset Management, can proceed with its claims, the Times reported. Dexia sued JPMorgan, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in United States District Court in Manhattan last year.

In its lawsuit, the bank cited at least 20 dubious securities that were included in a case brought against the banks by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2011.

Dexia has been bailed out twice since the financial crisis and lost $774 million on the securities sold to them by the three American banks, court records show. [NYT] –Katherine Clarke