The team heading up Credit Suisse’s litigation finance unit has struck out on its own in New York under the name Parabellum Capital, becoming the latest independent outfit to enter the growing field of third-party litigation funding in the United States.

The team heading up Credit Suisse’s litigation finance unit has struck out on its own in New York under the name Parabellum Capital, becoming the latest independent outfit to enter the growing field of third-party litigation funding in the United States.

A company that lost $50 million in a fraudulent deal with former attorney Marc S. Dreier cannot recover damages from Dechert for certifying that the deal was legitimate, a New York appellate panel has ruled. Fortress Credit had accused Dechert of failing to do “even the most basic due diligence.”

For the first time, a federal judge overseeing a securities class action tied to the subprime meltdown has squarely rejected arguments by the credit ratings agencies that their wildly overgenerous ratings on mortgage-backed securities amount to protected speech under the First Amendment.

Monoline insurer Assured Guaranty sued Credit Suisse this week over $1.8 billion in mortgage securitizations that Assured insured before the subprime bubble burst.