JUDGE DEALS BLOW TO ADELPHIA VICTIMS

A number of businesses and individuals who lost millions of dollars in the 2002 collapse of Adelphia Communication Corp. suffered a major blow this week.

A federal judge dismissed their claims against heavyweights Citigroup Inc., ING Group NV, Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG, and hundreds of other financial institutions and investment funds.

Creditors sought a total of more than $4 billion, alleging that the institutions helped Adelphia's executive managers defraud the company. The case dated back to 2003, when the plaintiffs, organized as the Adelphia Recovery Trust, first filed a complaint in bankruptcy court seeking to recover money lost in Adelphia's bankruptcy filing.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence McKenna ruled that the Adelphia Recovery Trust lacked standing to bring most of its claims in court. He found that the Adelphia's reorganization plan, required under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws, had appropriately distributed leftover assets.

Companies and individuals within the Adelphia Recovery Trust are still pursuing civil claims under federal tort laws.