Second Circuit Weighs in on Several Benchmark Manipulation Cases
ABA Antitrust Law Section, 2024
The financial services industry has come under close scrutiny during the current regime of antitrust enforcement. This heightened attention is reflected in rulings handed down by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in three long-running benchmark manipulation cases – In re: Treasury Securities Litigation, In re: Mexican Government Bonds Antitrust Litigation, and In re: Platinum and Palladium Antitrust Litigation. To assess the potential effects of these rulings, Managing Principal Samuel Weglein, Vice President David Smith, Manager Emma Dong, and Nathaniel Bronstein (Fried Frank) authored the article “Second Circuit Weighs in on Several Benchmark Manipulation Cases,” which was published by the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Section.
In their article, the authors provide an overview of the at-issue conduct and dissect the Second Circuit’s analysis for each of the three benchmark manipulation cases. They find that the court’s analysis and conclusions highlight the requirements private plaintiffs must meet at the pleading stage to adequately allege and maintain standing to seek damages for the conspiratorial manipulation of financial benchmarks and instruments. The authors explain that the court’s analyses also demonstrate that claims regarding antitrust injury from the alleged conspiracy must be direct and that defendants should be aware of potential personal jurisdiction issues.