U.S. Magistrate Bruce Guyton recommended denying the class action status sought by attorneys for some of the 457 plaintiffs spread among about 50 current lawsuits, and for any others waiting to sue.

Since the Dec. 22, 2008, spill of 5.4 million cubic yards of toxin-laden sludge in the Emory River and on privately held land beside TVA's' Kingston Plant, the utility has negotiated buyouts of more than 170 properties and is continuing a cleanup that is projected to cost $1.2 billion.

"A class action is not superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating these cases," Guyton said in his recommendation.

"The diversity of claims in these cases and the danger of plaintiffs being excluded from asserting their individual claims for personal injury, medical monitoring, or other claims undermine the adequacy of representation" in a class action, the magistrate's recommendation said.

A statewide class action in which Massachusetts homeowners accuse U.S. Bancorp and Ally Financial Inc. of faulty foreclosures will resume now that the state’s high court ruled in a similar case last week.

The litigation was on hold while the Supreme Judicial Court decided whether state law required foreclosures to be conducted by the mortgage owner. The high court ruled Jan. 7 in U.S. Bank v. Ibanez that an industry practice allowing post-foreclosure assignments violated state law.

“This is a statewide class action and it’s going to bring relief to all of the people who are dispossessed homeowners in many instances,” Kevin Costello, a lawyer for the borrowers, said in a telephone interview today. Costello today filed a motion to restart evidence gathering in the case.

Claims of wrongdoing by banks and loan servicers triggered a 50-state investigation last year into whether hundreds of thousands of foreclosures were properly documented as the housing market collapsed.

Unwinding of foreclosures may lead to loan workouts with homeowners or force originators to buy back loans that ended up in mortgage-backed securities.

Attorneys general in Arizona and Nevada filed civil lawsuits Friday against Bank of America Corp., alleging that the lender is misleading and deceiving homeowners who have tried to modify mortgages in two of the nation's most foreclosure-damaged states.

Bank of America violated Arizona's consumer fraud law by misleading consumers who tried to reduce their monthly payments to keep their homes, state Attorney General Terry Goddard said. The bank also violated the terms of a 2009 consent agreement requiring its Countrywide mortgage subsidiary to implement a loan modification program, the Arizona lawsuit alleges.

Hundreds of homeowners kept making their mortgage payments because Bank of America repeatedly assured them that their loans were being modified, Goddard said. Instead, many lost their homes anyway.

"Those people could have used that money for something else," Goddard told The Associated Press. "They were deceived into continuing to make mortgage payments when they had no hope of saving their homes."

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto told the AP that the Silver State's lawsuit was a last resort to try to get the bank to change its ways. It was filed after several discussions with bank managers led to assurances but little more.

"Clearly there is a disconnect between what Bank of America tells me at the management level and what's happening on the front line," Masto said.

Attorneys general in four Gulf Coast states are urging oil spill victims to check with lawyers before settling claims against BP PLC.

They issued consumer advisories Friday in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. Earlier this week Claims Administrator Kenneth Feinberg completed his plan to give claimants three payment options — interim, final and quick.

Those opting for final or quick payments must sign away their right to sue BP for additional damages. The attorneys general said they should consult with a lawyer first.

BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April, spilling oil into the water for three months. In Florida only a few beaches were fouled, but the spill scared away tourists and businesses across the state had financial losses.

A Houston man already facing federal charges in Virginia for his role in an alleged life insurance scam has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Texas.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas said Wednesday that Adley Husni Abdulwahab was indicted on five counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy in connection with an alleged $17 million investment scam.

Two co-defendants in the case have pleaded guilty to a single count of securities fraud and face up to five years in prison.

Abdulwahab remains in custody in the Eastern District of Virginia for his alleged role in an alleged $100 million life insurance scam and couldn't be reached for comment. Federal court records do not list an attorney for Abdulwahab in the Texas matter.