Deloitte, Grant Must Defend Parmalat Suit

A federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit that accused Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton International of helping Italian dairy company Parmalat Finanziaria to understate its debt and overstate its assets.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York is the second in three weeks in which he has refused a request by the two accounting firms to dismiss a lawsuit. He ruled June 28 that a suit by Parmalat stockholders and bondholders could proceed. Thursday, he refused to dismiss a suit by Parmalat’s government-appointed administrator, Enrico Bondi.

Kaplan’s ruling increases Bondi’s leverage in settlement talks with Deloitte and Grant Thornton. Bondi may continue to seek documents and other evidence for his case.