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EXHIBIT 99.1
Contact: Brock Hill
(626) 535-1932
COAST LITIGATION TRUST ANNOUNCES
RULING ON MOTION AND CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
PASADENA, California, January 2, 2001 - The Coast Federal Litigation
Contingent Payment Rights Trust (the "Trust") (NASDAQ:CCPRZ) announced today
that Judge Hewitt of the United States Court of Federal Claims (the "Claims
Court") issued a decision with respect to the government's motion and Coast
Federal's cross-motion for summary judgment in connection with Coast Federal
Bank, Federal Savings Bank ("Coast Federal") v. The United States (Civil Action
No. 92-466C (the "Litigation") in the Claims Court). In her decision Judge
Hewitt held in part for the government, ruling that (i) Coast Federal's capital
credit in the amount of $299 million was not a permanent addition to Coast
Federal's regulatory capital and was to have been amortized over a period of
12.7 years, and (ii) Coast Federal may not claim increased deposit costs as
wounded bank damages. Judge Hewitt also held in part for Coast Federal, ruling
that (i) Coast Federal's expectancy damages were not unforeseeable, and (ii)
Coast Federal is not barred from recovering expectancy damages because of a
failure to mitigate.
Judge Hewitt's ruling with respect to the non-permanence and
amortization of Coast Federal's capital credit and Coast Federal's inability to
claim increased deposit costs will likely have a substantial negative impact on
the amount of damages that Coast Federal will be able to seek to recover at
trial. The extent of such impact has yet to be calculated by Coast Federal's
expert witnesses.
The Trust, established as part of the transaction pursuant to which Coast
Savings Financial, Inc. ("Coast Savings"), merged with and into H.F. Ahmanson &
Co., holds Ahmanson's or its successor's commitment to pay the Trust the net
after-tax proceeds, if any, received by Coast Federal, or its successor, in the
Litigation. Certificates representing undivided interests in the assets of the
Trust, and therefore interests in Ahmanson's commitment, were publicly issued by
the Trust to the holders of Coast Savings' common stock immediately prior to the
effectiveness of Coast Savings' merger with Ahmanson on February 13, 1998, which
certificates trade on The NASDAQ National Market under the symbol CCPRZ.##
