* Lawsuit seeks to hold former MF Global CEO Corzine, others responsible for brokerage's collapse
* Judge says reasonable to infer someone "did something wrong"
* Judge also says litigation "wasteful and rancorous"
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday allowed a lawsuit to move forward that seeks to hold former MF Global Holdings Ltd Chief Executive Officer Jon Corzine and other executives responsible for the brokerage's collapse.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said that it was reasonable to infer someone "did something wrong to set in motion such an extraordinary chain of events causing such extensive harm to so many people and interests."
But the judge also called the litigation "wasteful and rancorous" and chastised the parties for failing to come together to resolve the matter "in a just and efficient way."
The judge also chided lawyers for the customers for filing claims that "fly in the face of clear precedent." He dismissed parts of the lawsuit, including claims pending against accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In a statement, a Corzine spokesman said the former CEO is pleased the court dismissed some of the claims.
"We believe that discovery in the case will reveal that the remaining claims also are without merit, and that ultimately we will prevail on all counts," the spokesman said in the statement.
The ruling was the latest by the judge that refused to dismiss a lawsuit over the 2011 collapse of MF Global, which left about $1.6 billion of customer funds missing and was one of the 10 largest bankruptcies in U.S. history.
Last month, Marrero refused to dismiss a lawsuit by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission accusing Corzine and former Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien of illegally transferring money out of customer accounts to stem losses from big bets on European sovereign debt.
The judge similarly in November allowed investors in MF Global to move forward with a lawsuit against Corzine, other executives and several banks related to their alleged role in the futures brokerage's collapse.
The latest ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2011 by former customers of broker-dealer MF Global Inc accusing officials at the brokerage of violating the Commodity Exchange Act and New York state law.
The lawsuit also accused PwC of failing to adequately audit MF Global's internal controls over customer funds.
In his ruling, Marerro dismissed claims that Corzine and O'Brien engaged in direct violation of the Commodity Exchange Act but allowed the plaintiffs to pursue claims against the executives for aiding and abetting violations of the law.