Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bank of America Corporation

The SEC (plaintiff) alleged Bank of America (defendant) falsely told shareholders that Merrill would not pay year-end bonuses before their merger, when Bank of America had actually authorized up to $5.8 billion in such bonuses; the parties proposed a Consent Judgment enjoining future false statements and imposing a $33 million fine, with Bank of America neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing, and sought the court's approval on the day the suit was filed.