December 10, 2024
A New York federal judge on Friday overruled objections from Bank of America unit Merrill Lynch to certify a class of investors, with a slightly extended class period, in a suit alleging the financial institution colluded with other major banks to avoid modernizing the stock loan market.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla issued an opinion and order adopting a report and recommendation published by a magistrate judge in 2022 stating that the proposed class should be certified. However, Judge Failla extended the end of the class period from what the magistrate judge had recommended.
According to Friday’s order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave recommended that certification be granted to a class period that runs from Jan. 1, 2012, until Aug. 16, 2017, when the initial complaint in the suit was filed.
Judge Failla, on Friday, extended the end of the class period to Nov. 17, 2017, the date on which the amended, operative complaint was filed, saying the evidence presented by investors runs through that period.
The investor plaintiffs are represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.