May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. appealed a Dutch court ruling that blocked its purchase of ABN Amro Holding NV's LaSalle Bank unit.

Bank of America agreed to buy Chicago-based LaSalle for $21 billion on April 23. On the same day, Barclays Plc announced that it would buy Amsterdam-based ABN Amro in the biggest ever bank takeover. The Enterprise Section of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal froze the sale of LaSalle on May 3 because ABN Amro failed to get shareholder approval.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America told the Dutch Supreme Court that the deal didn't require shareholder approval and questioned whether Dutch law would apply to a transaction in the U.S., according to a filing that was confirmed by Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri. The court received the documents today, court spokeswoman Eveline Hartogs said.

LaSalle is at the center of Barclays's attempt to fend off a possible rival approach by Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Santander Central Hispano SA and Fortis. The group said its $72.2 billion-euro ($98 billion) proposal on April 25 would depend on the inclusion of LaSalle. ABN Amro rejected the approach May 7, saying it wasn't ``superior'' to Barclays's bid.

``It really is getting quite messy,'' said Colin Morton, a Leeds-based fund manager at Rensburg Sheppards, who helps manage about $1.8 billion. ``A commonsense view based on which bank is making the highest offer would suggest Royal Bank is still in the driving seat but who knows now it's in the hands of the courts.''

Royal Bank yesterday released a memorandum dated May 5 that included details of its plans, including its proposal to take over LaSalle and most of ABN Amro's wholesale division. Santander would get the Latin American and Italian businesses, while Fortis would get the Dutch, private-client and asset-management units.

Separately, ABN Amro ``is aiming to file its appeal as soon as possible,'' said Piers Townsend, a spokesman for the Dutch bank. The court said this month that it expects to make a ruling on an appeal by ABN Amro in three to four months.

Barclays also filed an appeal, according to Supreme Court spokeswoman Hartogs. Robin Tozer, a spokesman for Barclays, said the London-based bank ``is submitting materials as part of ABN Amro's appeal.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Joana Quintanilha in Amsterdam at quintanilha@bloomberg.net; Ben Livesey in London at blivesey@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 15, 2007 12:38 EDT