The legal backlog of cases pending against the GSEs and former company officials got a little shorter following the recent dismissal of two separate federal lawsuits against three defendants. A federal judge in Washington this week dismissed a long-simmering class-action lawsuit against Fannie Maes former Chief Financial Officer Timothy Howard brought by investors hoping to recover damages.Two Ohio pension funds the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, filed suit in 2004 related to a $6.3 billion overstatement of earnings against Fannie and three former GSE executives, including CEO Franklin Raines.