Countrywide asks to combine cases

Home mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which has been sued by states and consumers alleging deceptive business practices, asked a federal judicial panel to consolidate six of those cases in one U.S. court in Los Angeles.

The lender and Bank of America Corp., which acquired it this year for $2.5 billion, asked to place cases filed by Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan; her California counterpart, Jerry Brown; and the other suits before one judge, arguing that they share common questions of law and fact.