Defendants in more than 400 lawsuits related to the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme have sought to move their cases from bankruptcy court to district court, most asking U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff to assess demands for return of money by the Madoff trustee. Madoff trustee Irving Picard has filed more than 1,050 lawsuits to try to recoup money he alleges was stolen from the con man’s other customers, according to a bankruptcy court filing in Manhattan yesterday. Rakoff’s handling of Picard’s $1 billion lawsuit against the New York Mets owners, which the judge cut to $386 million, spurred defendants in more than 30 other cases to ask Rakoff to assess their liabilities too, court documents show. More on Bloomberg here.
