NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY )

was hit on Thursday with a $6.7 billion lawsuit claiming

it cheated former Celgene shareholders by delaying federal

approval for three drugs, 1-1/2 months after a federal judge

abruptly dismissed an earlier version of the case.

The lawsuit accused Bristol Myers of depriving holders of

"contingent value rights" (CVR) an extra $9 per share in cash by

dragging its heels in seeking approval of the drugs, including

the cancer drug Breyanzi, by specified deadlines. It said

Bristol Myers did this to avoid a big payout.

On Sept. 30, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan

ruled that the plaintiff UMB Bank had never been properly

appointed trustee to represent the CVR holders.

He said this "inexplicable failure" doomed the earlier

lawsuit that UMB filed after purportedly replacing a different

trustee, and 17 months after Bristol Myers bought Celgene for

$80.3 billion.

In Thursday's complaint, UMB said it has addressed the

judge's concerns and been confirmed as trustee, entitling it to

sue. Bristol Myers' estimated $6.7 billion liability is up from

$6.4 billion mentioned in earlier court papers.

Neither Bristol Myers nor its lawyers immediately responded

to requests for comment after market hours. UMB's lawyers did

not immediately respond to separate requests.

Bristol Myers won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval

for Breyanzi to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Feb. 5, 2021,

five weeks after the relevant deadline for the CVR holders.

The case is UMB Bank NA v Bristol-Myers Squibb Co ( BMY ), U.S.

District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-08668.