Credit Suisse, Cushman hit with 24 bn property lawsuit

A group of property owners have sued Swiss banking major Credit Suisse and real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, seeking $24 billion in damages related to a loan scheme for purchasing resorts.

The British daily The Times has reported that Credit Suisse is being sued by property owners in four luxury ski and golf resorts, in the US and the Bahamas.

"The lawsuit, filed on Sunday in a federal court in Boise, Idaho, seeks $24 billion of damages against Credit Suisse and commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

"It also seeks class-action status for more than 3,000 investors who bought land or homes," the daily said.

The report noted that the alleged losses relate to a Montana ski resort Yellowstone Club, Lake Las Vegas resort in southern Nevada, the Tamarack resort in central Idaho and Ginn sur Mer on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas.

The complaint seeks $8 billion of actual damages plus $16 billion of punitive damages, it added.

Quoting the complaint, the daily said Credit Suisse violated federal racketeering laws by concocting a "loan to own" scheme that inflated the value of resorts and burdened resorts and purchasers of homes there with too much debt.

"Using appraisal methods provided by Cushman & Wakefield, this scheme allowed Credit Suisse to win 'enormous fees' and ultimately foreclose on or take control of the resorts at well below market value," it added.

According to The Times, Credit Suisse and Cushman & Wakefield each had said that the lawsuit lacks merit.