CHICAGO, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- HSBC said it would appeal the latest ruling in an 11-year securities fraud case in which a judge in Chicago this week ordered forfeiture of $2.46 billion.
The decision, handed down by Judge Ronald Guzman of the Federal District Court in Chicago, against HSBC and three former Household International executives, included $1.48 billion in damages and $986.4 million in prejudgment interest, The New York Times reported Friday.
"We plan to appeal and believe we have a strong argument," said Patrick Humphris, a spokesman for HSBC.
"HSBC believes it has meritorious grounds for appeal on matters of both liability and damages and will argue on appeal that damages should be nil or a relatively insignificant amount," the firm said in a financial report released in August.
The case focuses on Household International, which HSBC agreed to purchase in 2002 in a $14.2 billion deal that closed in 2003.
In a class-action lawsuit, Household International was accused of misleading investors about the quality of its loans and its lending practices between 1999 and 2002, the Times said.
Before HSBC bought the company, it agreed to pay $486 million to settle charges of predatory lending practices.
"We are very pleased that we went the distance in this case, all the way through a jury trial, and that we were able to obtain such a tremendous recovery for shareholders," said James Glickenhaus, one of the three lead plaintiffs in the case.
