The Federal Housing Finance Agency crossed a major hurdle Friday in its pursuit of claims against issuers of residential mortgage-backed securities, as a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss claims against UBS. The findings directly affect 15 cases filed by FHFA against a who’s who of the financial industry.

A federal judge has reinstated a racketeering count against TD Bank in a lawsuit filed by an investors group that claims it was cheated by imprisoned lawyer Scott Rothstein, who ran money through the nation’s sixth-largest bank as part of his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Facing an $18.2 billion judgment by an Ecuadoran court, lawyers for Chevron are asking a Miami federal judge to help them get documents they claim will show bribery payments from a secret bank account that should nullify the judgment.

An attorney for the Authors Guild urged a federal judge Thursday to reject Google’s motion to dismiss its Copyright Act claim over Google’s digital library, and asked that the case be certified as a class action.

A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement between BP and individuals and businesses that suffered economic harm or medical costs associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — and clarified that BP, and not the claimants themselves, would pay the lawyers who spearheaded the litigation.