Wachovia investors have a day in court

RALEIGH, N.C., March 24 (UPI) -- Wachovia Corp. officials lulled prominent shareholders into a false sense of security before the bank collapsed, their lawyer told a judge in North Carolina.

Attorney Trenholm Walker said bank officials could have told plaintiffs Cameron and Dee-Dee Harris, "I won't comment," or just stuck to the public statements.

Instead, the couple claims bank officials, including Chief Executive Officer Ken Thompson, made statements that led them to believe the bank was in good financial shape, even though they had intended to sell their shares after Wachovia purchased Golden West Financial in 2007.

Wachovia's attorney Robert Fuller said the comments made in private by bank executives were "social, vague and entirely consistent with public statements," the Charlotte, N.C., Observer reported Wednesday.

Thompson "was not their broker; he did not have a fiduciary duty to them," Fuller said.

Judge John Jolly said it may take months for him to decide if the case can go to trial or not. He also said his decision could be based on public or private statements.

"If you have a CEO clearly misrepresenting the facts and people make their decisions based on what he says, that bothers me to say they have no claim." Jolly said.