A $68 million agreement to settle a decade of litigation over a municipal bond price-fixing scandal was approved on Monday.

Illinois Circuit Court Judge Thomas Donnelly also approved an emergency order sought by the banks to vacate an Aug. 7 trial date since a settlement agreement has been reached.

Lawyers for whistleblower Edelweiss Fund LLC on Monday argued against confirming the $68 million agreement, saying it violates the state’s False Claims Act by arbitrarily setting a $15 million award for Edelweiss that doesn’t cover its reasonable fees, costs, and expenses. At Monday’s hearing, Edelweiss lawyer and Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP partner Todd Schneider argued the judge should not vacate the trial date and approve the settlement because the fund deserves more than double the amount contained in the agreement.

But Donnelly granted the banks’ motion to vacate an Aug. 7 trial date, telling Schneider that his team is free to dispute its allotment of the agreement, and set a Sept. 15 date to begin briefing on that topic. “That’s the only thing that’s left,” Donnelly said.

The settlement was reached last week between Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D) and eight banks, including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Barclays, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on Monday’s development. A lawyer for Edelweiss declined to comment.

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