July 1, 2022
- Pension funds allege “group boycott” of startup platforms in stock loan market
- Manhattan federal judge in 2018 declined to dismiss case
- Credit Suisse in February first to settle, for $81 million
A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday recommended the certification of a class of investors who have alleged Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and other large banks conspired to curb competition in the U.S. stock loan market.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave said the plaintiffs, several pension funds including Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System and Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, met certain legal requirements to proceed as a class in antitrust litigation that began in 2017 over the nearly $2 trillion stock lending market.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla will weigh the report before ruling on whether a class will be certified.
Cave recommended the appointment of U.S. law firms Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to serve as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. The defendant banks can file objections to Cave’s report with Failla within 14 days.
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Class attorneys Michael Eisenkraft of Cohen Milstein and Daniel Brockett at Quinn Emanuel said in a statement on Friday “we’re pleased with Judge Cave’s ruling on class certification and look forward to continued litigation against the banks to maximize recoveries for the benefit of class members.”
Read Stock-Loan Case Against Goldman, Other Banks Takes Step Toward Class Certification.