A California state appellate court reversed a ruling that Bank of America illegally raided customers' Social Security benefits to pay fees. The original ruling could have cost Bank of America $1.6B. In 2004, a jury awarded class action plaintiffs $296.7 million in compensatory damages and restitution and a potential $1.3 billion of further damages. The plaintiffs alleged that Bank of America took money from Social Security direct deposit accounts to collect fees from 1994 to 2003 for overdrafts and other debts. The trial judge accepted the jury finding that Bank of America should pay $1,000 to each plaintiff who suffered emotional or economic harm. Plaintiffs attorneys estimated that 1.3 million customers were affected. The appellate court said that the trial court misapplied a 1974 California Supreme Court decision that bars banks from deducting fees from an account containing government benefits to cover delinquencies in a separate credit card account. The appeals court said that it was aware of the potential for financial distress to recipients of public benefits, but added that "debiting an account holder's deposit to cover a check written on the same account does not present the same risk" of violating laws protecting account holders. From Reuters: http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-11-21T140300Z_01_N21421191_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-BANKOFAMERICA-RULING.XML Ray