Lloyds asks US court to dismiss HBOS law suit The bank, which was forced to acquire its Scottish rival at the height of the 2008 credit crisis, has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, which accuses Lloyds and Sir Victor Blank and Eric Daniels, its former chairman and chief executive, of making misleading statements about the quality of the transaction. But, it continues, "Plaintiff has made no particularised allegations showing that Defendants knew but intentionally failed to disclose material facts about HBOS's financial state in the fourth quarter of 2008." The motion to dismiss, filed by New York solicitors Hughes Hubbard & Reed, also cites the Financial Services Authority's report into HBOS's corporate bank, and the fact that "the extent of the deterioration in HBOS's commercial loan portfolio was not even known to HBOS's own management until after year-end 2008." The filing also asserts that the claims are time-barred because of the two-year statute of limitations for securities fraud claims in New York. Lloyds" own attempts to have the suit thrown out are of interest to aggrieved British shareholders, who have begun mounting their own case against the bank and its former board. Lloyds Action Now, a shareholder action group, is known to be watching the case closely given the ramifications it would have for its own fight were Mr Ross and his supporters to be successful. LAN, which represents around 4,000 UK-based investors, has retained the services of Jeremy Cousins QC as it puts its case together. A LAN spokesman said of the US case: "If the motion to dismiss is rejected, it is highly significant for the fate of UK shareholders." LAN is in talks with a number of professional funders to pay for the case, although a final decision has not yet been taken. Lloyds declined to comment further.