E&Y has AOL-Time Warner case thrown out

Ernst & Young is finally in the clear over its role in the controversial 2001 AOL-Time Warner merger after the last of hundreds of lawsuits was dismissed in New York yesterday (30 Nov).

District judge Colleen MacMahon granted the Big Four’s motion to dismiss the 2003 lawsuit brought by AOL shareholder Dominic Amorosa as the time limit for securities fraud cases had expired and the cases had failed to connect the statements made by the auditor to stock losses.

Amorosa had accused E&Y of approving false and misleading financial statements and concealing AOL’s improper methods of booking online advertising revenue. E&Y claimed Amorosa, who dropped out of a class action lawsuit to file his own case, was a “vexatious litigant pursuing clearly frivolous claims”.