In re Credit Default Swaps Antitrust Litigation, SDNY, 13-md-2476
Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP Announces That District Court Has Granted
Final Approval of $1.864 Billion Antitrust Settlement with World’s
Largest Banks
Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP as co-lead counsel for a plaintiff class
consisting of institutional investors in the Credit Default Swaps (“CDS”)
trading market, is pleased to announce that on April 18, 2016, Judge Denise
Cote issued an order granting final approval to a $1.864 billion class
action settlement with twelve investment bank dealer defendants (“Dealer
Bank Defendants”) and Markit Group (“Markit”) and International
Swaps & Derivatives Association (“ISDA”). In addition
to the monetary recovery, ISDA also agreed to changes in its licensing
procedures that will make it easier for exchanges and other electronic
trading platforms to enter the CDS trading market and ensure that class
members are represented in ISDA’s decision-making processes. Judge
Cote also approved the Plan of Distribution to the Plaintiff Class and
awarded Plaintiffs’ counsel attorneys’ fees and costs. The
settlements represent one of the largest private antitrust settlements
in United States history. Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, led by partners
Clifford Pearson and Bruce Simon and Senior Counsel George Trevor, represented
named plaintiff, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association
(“LACERA”). LACERA has over 160,000 members and retirees with
over $48 billion in investment assets.
Claims Deadline
Members of the Plaintiff Class should note that the deadline for submitting
a claim is rapidly approaching. That deadline is
May 27, 2016. If you have not submitted a claim and you believe you are a member of
the Plaintiff Class, you should act now. Further information about the
settlement is available at
www.cdsantitrustsettlement.com. You can also contact the claims administrator, the Garden City Group, at
info@CDSAntitrustSettlement.com. Each class member that was identified by the claims administrator should
have receive a claim package that included login information to access
its individualized claims portal. We estimate that distribution of the
settlement proceeds is likely to occur in late 2016.
CDS Antitrust Litigation
Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, following an exhaustive investigation of
the Dealer Bank Defendants’ domination of the market structure for
trading CDS, filed a lawsuit against the Dealer Bank Defendants, Markit
and ISDA in October of 2013 alleging that their conduct in the trading
of CDS violated the United States’ antitrust laws. In December 2013,
Judge Cote appointed LACERA as the co-lead plaintiff and Pearson, Simon
& Warshaw as co-lead counsel for the plaintiff class. The firm of
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was also appointed co-lead counsel.
The Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (the “Complaint”)
accuses the 12 Dealer Bank Defendants, along with ISDA and Markit, of
conspiring to prevent the rise of efficient and transparent CDS trading
platforms so as to stifle competition and preserve their favored position
in the status quo over-the-counter CDS trading market. In September 2014,
Judge Cote denied all defendants’ motions to dismiss plaintiffs’
Sherman Act Section 1 and unjust enrichment claims and full discovery
commenced.
Document discovery was extensive. Pearson, Simon & Warshaw with co-counsel
Quinn Emanuel reviewed over ten million documents produced by defendants
and millions more obtained from third parties through subpoenas. Pearson,
Simon & Warshaw also obtained, after months of negotiation, complete
CDS trading records for the class period from the Depository Trust &
Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”). According to DTCC’s counsel,
the trade data it produced was the largest data production ever made by
DTCC. Working with the expert economists it retained, Pearson, Simon &
Warshaw built a trading model from the DTCC trade data that identified
the members of the plaintiff class, their individual trades of CDS, and
the amount each class member was harmed as a result of defendants’
anti-competitive conduct. Pearson, Simon & Warshaw and Quinn Emanuel
also took a number of depositions of high level employees of defendants.
While the extensive discovery efforts were ongoing Pearson, Simon &
Warshaw also participated in numerous mediation sessions, jointly and
with individual defendants, under the auspices of nationally renowned
mediator, the Honorable Daniel Weinstein (Ret.). Judge Weinstein told
the Court:
"I would go so far as to say that, in 30-plus years of mediating high-stakes
disputes, this was one of the finest examples of efficient and effective
lawyering by plaintiffs’ counsel that I have ever witnessed. I have
rarely, if ever, observed a Plaintiff in a case of this complexity and
size, achieve a result of this magnitude with the speed that Plaintiffs
achieved here. . . . [Plaintiffs’ counsel’s] strategy, timing,
and execution resulted in one of the best settlements I have witnessed
in more than 30 years of mediating, particularly given the challenges
they would have faced in litigating this complex case."
In a joint statement issued with Quinn Emanuel following announcement that
the settlements were final, Bruce Simon said: “We are pleased that
we have reached this exceptional settlement for the Class, appropriate
for the damages our clients suffered.”
The press release provides additional details regarding the settlement
and preliminary approval.
The official claims administration website (www.CDSAntitrustSettlement.com) contains important information concerning how to submit a claim and important
deadlines. To reach the claims administrator you can visit
www.CDSAntitrustSettlement.com, email
info@CDSAntitrustSettlement.com or call 1-888-744-0531 for further information.
If you would like to discuss this case with Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, please
contact us.