This is encouraging - Banks can be sued over 2008 collapse

No real punishment yet, but this opens the door..

From Crooks and Liars

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc suffered a defeat on Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a decision forcing it to defend against claims it misled investors about mortgage securities that lost value during the 2008 financial crisis.

    Without comment, the court refused to consider Goldman's appeal of a September 2012 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

    That court's action lets the NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund, which owned some mortgage-backed certificates underwritten by Goldman, sue on behalf of investors in certificates it did not own, but that were backed by mortgages from the same lenders.

    In afternoon trading, Goldman shares were down $2.47, or 1.6 percent, at $152.37 on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Other bank stocks also fell, amid concern about an escalation of the euro zone crisis, with the S&P financial sector index down 0.7 percent.

    Goldman and other banks have faced thousands of lawsuits by investors seeking to recoup losses on mortgage securities.

    The bank has said that letting the 2nd Circuit decision stand could cost Wall Street tens of billions of dollars.