Lawsuits over subprime crisis rise against Wall Street firms

The number of securities fraud class action lawsuits jumped 43 percent
last year to 166 suits, including 100 filed after the subprime mortgage
crisis erupted, according to a study by Stanford Law School and
Cornerstone Research. In New York City, retirement and pension funds
for city workers have filed lawsuits against mortgage lender
Countrywide. The suits claim the lender misrepresented the risk of its
mortgage-backed securities.