On August 24, 2011, the California Court of Appeal directed the dismissal of claims against Countrywide Financial Corp. brought by a group of homeowner-borrowers. The complaint alleges that Countrywide fraudulently concealed a scheme to sell RMBS at inflated values that caused the plaintiffs’ home values to drop when the real estate bubble burst. The trial court had overruled the demurrers to this claim, and Countrywide sought a writ of mandamus. The court found the broad-based decline in home values was not causally related to the alleged fraud, and that Countrywide did not have a duty to disclose any intent to commit fraud to the homeowners. Decision.