US District Court judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Bank of America can file a $1bn (€821.9m) counterclaim against Parmalat in response to the collapsed Italian dairy company's suit against the bank.

In October 2004, Enrico Bondi, chief executive of Parmalat, filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, one of the company's lead bankers, seeking $10bn and claiming the bank is responsible for the company's bankruptcy. Bondi has sued about 50 banks, including Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Unicredito Italiano, over Parmalat's collapse.