St. Pete wins $10M in Wells Fargo suit | News

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A week-and-a-half-long lawsuit results in the City of St. Petersburg win $10.2 million from Wells Fargo.

The city maintained Wachovia, since it merged with Wells Fargo, placing their securities in risky Lehman Brothers notes instead of conservative long-term notes, as planned.  Former mayor Rick Baker was among the witnesses who testified in the Federal trial.

While it's great news for the city, it may be even better news for Sarasota County. The county has filed a similar suit for $40 million.

The precedent set by the St. Pete case could mean big bucks for Sarasota and other municipalities that filed similar lawsuits.

Current St. Petersburg mayor, Bill Foster, said the money will go back to the reserves and funds that should never have been depleted.

Wells Fargo disputed the allegation that Wachovia didn't tell the city what was going on with the downgrades but failed to support its claims. The bank is expected to appeal the decision.