NY court dismisses fraud claims vs. Goldman over Abacus CDO

A New York appeals court dismissed a case against Goldman Sachs Group Inc brought by a bond insurer who claimed it was fraudulently induced to insure the bank's Abacus product tied to subprime mortgages.

In a 3-2 decision, New York's Appellate Division, First Department ruled that ACA Financial Guaranty Corp was a "highly sophisticated commercial entity" whose claims of being misled into insuring the collateralized debt obligation, or CDO, were contradicted by the offering disclosure and other evidence.

ACA claimed Goldman Sachs misled it into believing Paulson & Co, a hedge fund, would take a long position in the Abacus CDO.

The appeals court said ACA could not claim it was relying on the misrepresentations, adding that the insurer could have asked Paulson & Co what position it intended to take.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)