We learn from today’s New York Times Business Section that the taking of evidence in the AIG trial that we have been following here, was suspended yesterday to allow the parties’ lawyers to argue over admissibility of something quaintly called the “Doomsday Book,” which is not really a book but rather [the Fed’s] “collection of legal opinions that describe and delineate the Federal Reserve’s ability to fight financial crises, along with a variety of related documents.” Se Binyamin Applebaum, Fed Is Silent On Blueprint Used to Fight A.I.G. Crisis, N.Y. Times, Oct 15, 2014, at p. B1. Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/business/economy/fed-is-silent-on-doomsday-book-its-blueprint-for-fighting-aig-crisis.html
The Fed defendants contend that the contents of the “Doomsday Book” are confidential, proprietary, and generally of the none-of-your-damned-business variety, to put it colloquially. The plaintiffs, on the other hand, contend that the Fed violated some of the policies duly memorialized in the “Doomsday Book,” such as taking a 79.9% stake in AIG as part of its bailout.
Stay tuned for the trial court’s ruling.