Shareholder sues Merrill Lynch over Bank of America deal

The general consensus seems to be that, given the developments in the financial sector over the past few days, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) shareholders did reasonably well in the deal that will make the company part of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

But where there's a will there's a way and where there's a $50 billion deal, there are lawyers looking for their cut. Reuters reports that a shareholder has filed a a lawsuit against Merrill with the New York Supreme Court, alleging that the deal is "wrong, unfair and harmful to Merrill public stockholders."

Murray, Frank & Sailer is representing that shareholder, while Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz has said it will also file a lawsuit on behalf of investors against both Merrill and Bank of America. The lawsuit states that the company's executives "are in possession of nonpublic information concerning the financial condition of prospects of Merrill . . . which they have not disclosed to Merrill public stockholders." The suit also alleges that Merril's executives and directors "have clear and material conflicts of interest and are acting to better their own interests at the expense of Merrill public shareholders."