Wells Fargo seeks Citigroup ruling

Wells Fargo & Co. asked a federal judge to rule that a letter agreement between Wachovia Corp. and Citigroup Inc. was invalid and that it wouldn’t be liable for damages in a lawsuit over its acquisition of Wachovia.

Wells Fargo, which agreed to buy Wachovia after topping a Citigroup bid this month, filed a request for a declaratory judgment in Manhattan federal court as part of a new lawsuit against Citigroup. Wells Fargo said it was concerned that Citigroup might sue the San Francisco-based company for interfering with an aborted Wachovia-Citigroup merger.