WHITE PLAINS (Legal Newsline) - Three Cleveland pension groups are suing several large banks and securities companies over conspiracy allegations.
Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, Cleveland Baker and Teamster Health and Welfare Fund, and Masterinvest Kapitalanlage GMBH, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit on Aug. 26 in the Southern District Court of New York against Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency; BMO Capital Markets Corp.; BNP Paribas Securities Corp.; Barclays Capital Inc.; Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.; Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Commerz Market LLC, Countrywide Securities Corp.; Credit Suisse Securities LLC; Daiwa Capital Markets America Inc.; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; HSBC Securities Inc.; Jefferies LLC; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Mizuho Securities USA Inc.; Merrill Lynch Government Securities Inc.; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC; Mizuho Securities USA Inc.; Nomura Securities International Inc.; RBC Capital Markets LLC; RBS Securities Inc.; SG Americas Securities LLC; TD Securities LLC; and UBS Securities LLC for violations of antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, and the Commodity Exchange Act.
The plaintiffs argue that between 2007 and June, the actions of the defendants represented a breach of good faith, fair dealings, and unjust enrichment regarding U.S. Treasury securities. They argue that the actions of the defendants manipulated the market of the U.S. Treasury securities, inflating the yields and suppressing prices during treasury auctions. They also claim that the defendants manipulated the futures as well as the secondary markets and that the anomalous prices of the treasury securities were the direct result of defendants’ tampering.
The plaintiffs are demanding a trial by jury and are suing for an undisclosed amount of treble damages, damages for violation of antitrust laws, court and attorney fees, injunction against the defendants for pursuing unlawful acts, and any other relief deemed just by the court. They are represented J. Douglas Richards and the law offices of Cohen, Milstein & Toll, PLLC; Daniel L. Brockett and the law offices of Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan LLP of New York, N.Y.; the offices of Kohn Swift & Graf P.C. in Philadelphia, Pa.; and the offices of Morgan & Morgan in New York, N.Y.
U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York case number 1:15-cv-06782-PGG