In re Libor-Based Fin. Instruments Antitrust Litig.

• Decision Date: 29 March 2013
• Docket Number: No. 11 MD 2262 (NRB).,11 MD 2262 (NRB).
• Citation: In re Libor-Based Fin. Instruments Antitrust Litig., 935 F. Supp. 2d 666 (S.D. N.Y. 2013)
• Parties: In re: LIBOR–BASED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS ANTITRUST LITIGATION. This Document Relates to: All Cases.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

935 F.Supp.2d 666

In re: LIBOR–BASED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS ANTITRUST LITIGATION. This Document Relates to: All Cases.

No. 11 MD 2262 (NRB).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

March 29, 2013.

Daniel Hume, David E. Kovel, Lauren Wagner Pederson, Roger W. Kirby, Surya Palaniappan, Kirby McInerney LLP, Jay W. Eisenhoferm, John D. Radice, Linda P. Nussbaum, Peter Anthony Barile, III, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., Arun Srinivas Subramanian, Ashley Margaret Simonsen, Seth D. Ard, Susman Godfrey LLP, Steven E. Fineman, Michael Joseph Miarmi, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Deborah M. Sturman, Milberg LLP, Max Raphael Schwartz, Scott Scott, L.L.P., Richard A. Mescon, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP, Lesley Elizabeth Weaver, 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Fund, Jeremy Alan Lieberman, Marc Ian Gross, Michael Morris Buchman, Patrick Vincent Dahlstrom, Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP, Brian Philip Murray, Gregory Bradley Linkh, Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, Jeffrey Simon Abraham, Abraham Fruchter & Twersky LLP, Jason Allen Zweig, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Elana Katcher, Gregory Keith Arenson, Richard Jo Kilsheimer, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, Jeffrey Craig Block, Whitney Erin Street, Block & Leviton LLP, New York, NY, Samuel Howard Rudman, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Melville, NY, Merrill G. Davidoff, Berger & Montague, P.C., David Haym Weinstein, Jeremy S. Spiegel, Robert S. Kitchenoff, Steven A. Asher, Weinstein Kitchenoff & Asher LLC, Steven Joesph Greenfogel, Lite Depalma Greenberg, LLC, Philadelphia, PA, Darren J. Robbins, David W. Mitchell, Lucas F. Olts, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Benjamin Galdston, Blair A. Nicholas, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, Patrick W. Daniels, Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia Geller, Rudman & Robbins, San Diego, CA, George E. Barrett, Timothy L. Miles, Barrette, Johnston & Parsley, Nashville, TN, Kevin Bruce Love, Hanzman and Criden, Coral Gables, FL, Michael E. Criden, Hanzman, Criden, Korge, Chaykin, Ponce & Heise, P.A., Miami, FL, Drew D. Hansen, Susman Godfrey LLP, Seattle, WA, Hilary K. Scherrer, Nathaniel C. Giddings, Ralph Johnson Bunche, III, William P. Butterfield, Hausfeld LLP, Andrew C. Shen, Caitlin Sinclair Hall, Joseph Solomon Hall, Michael John Guzman, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC, Lisa Marie Kaas, Dickstein Shapiro LLP, Washington, DC, Marc M. Seltzer, Susman Godfrey L.L.P., Lionel Z. Glancy, Glancy & Binkow Goldberg LLP, Bert Shinji Nishimura, Eng & Nishimura, Los Angeles, CA, Douglas Mason Chalmers, Douglas M. Chalmers P.C., Robert F. Coleman, Steve R. Jakubowski, Coleman Law Firm, Lori Ann Fanning, Marvin Alan Miller, Matthew E. Van Tine, Miller Law LLC, Steven A. Kanner, Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., Cathleen M. Combs, Daniel A. Edelman, James O. Latturner, Tiffany Nicole Hardy, Edelman, Combs Latturner & Goodwin, LLC, Joshua B. Silverman, Chicago, IL, Geoffrey Milbank Horn, Vincent Briganti, Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, P.C., White Plains, NY, Brendan Patrick Glaskin, Eric B. Fastiff, Joseph Richard Saveri, Richard M. Heimann, Andrew Scirica Kingsdale, Joseph Richard Saveri, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP, Lowell Harry Haky, Charles Schwab and Co., Inc., Office of Corporate Counsel, San Francisco, CA, Joseph F. Rice, Motley Rice LLC, Mount Pleasant, SC, William H. NarwoldMotley Rice LLC, Hartford, CT, Christopher William Madel, K. Craig Wildfang, Stacey Paige Slaughter, Thomas J. Undlin, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., Richard A. Lockridge, W. Joseph Bruckner, Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen, P.L.L.P., Dylan J. McFarland, Vincent J. Esades, Heins Mills & Olson, P.L.C., Minneapolis, MN, David R. Scott, Scott & Scott, LLC, Colchester, CT, Karen L. Morris, Patrick F. Morris, Morris & Morris, LLC, Wilmington, DE, Patrick Anthony Klingman, Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC, Chester, CT, Thomas V. Urmy, Shapiro, Haber & Urmy, L.L.P., Boston, MA, Joseph J. DePalma, Mayra Velez Tarantino, Lite, DePalma, Greenberg & Rivas, L.L.C., Newark, NJ, William H. London, Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC, Bannockburn, IL, John Walter Sharbrough, John W. Sharbrough, III, PC, Mobile, AL, Stephen George Stim, Stimconsul Ltd., Mill Neck, NY, Daniel Alberstone, Mark Philip Pifko, Peter Francis Smith, Roland Karim Tellis, Baron Budd, P.C., Encino, CA, Frank Cadmus Damrell, Jr., Cotchett Pitre and McCarthy LLP, Sacramento, CA, Gregory P. Priamos, Richard A. Milligan, Riverside City Attorney, Riverside, CA, Joseph Winters Cotchett, Nanci E. Nishimura, Frank Cadmus Damrell, Jr., Joseph Winters Cotchett, Aron K. Liang, Cotchett Pitre and McCarthy LLP, Burlingame, CA, Craig Stephen Spencer, Office of General Counsel, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Charles Furlonge Robinson, Eric K. Behrens, University of California, Oakland, CA, Jylana Collins, Bruce Reed Goodmiller, Everett Jenkins, Office of City Attorney, Richmond, CA, Eugene Whitlock, John C. Beiers, Lee Andrew Thompson, San Mateo County Counsel's Office, Hall of Justice & Records, Redwood City, CA, R. Bryant McCulley, McCulley McCluer PLLC, W. Percy Badham, Badham & Buck LLC, Birmingham, AL, Stuart Halkett McCluer, McCulley McCluer PLLC, Oxford, MS, Evans J. Carter, Evans J. Carter, P.C., Framingham, MA, Kathleen Anne Larocque, Sonoma County Counsel, Santa Rosa, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Elizabeth Lieberman, pro se.

Paul Steel Mishkin, Arthur J. Burke, Robert Frank Wise, Jr., Davis Polk & Wardwell L.L.P., Alanna Cyreeta Rutherford, James Brian Meadows, Jonathan David Schiller, Leigh Mager Nathanson, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP, David Harold Braff, Jeffrey T. Scott, Joshua Seth Kyle, Yvonne Susan Quinn, Matthew Joseph Porpora, Sullivan and Cromwell, LLP, Andrew Arthur Ruffino, Covington & Burling LLP, Elai E. Katz, Herbert Scott Washer, Joel Laurence Kurtzberg, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, Andrew Corydon Finch, Moses Silverman, Jessica Lillian Brach, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Edwin R. Deyoung, Gregory Thomas Casamento, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP, Dana Ashley Jupiter, Juan Alberto Arteaga, Thomas C. Rice Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Lisa Jean Fried, Marc Joel Gottridge, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Megan Polly Davis, Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer, LLP, Robert G. Houck, James Drew Miller, Clifford Chance US, LLP, Andrew W. Stern, Thomas Andrew Paskowitz, Sidley Austin LLP, Peter Sullivan, Lawrence Jay Zweifach, Rachel Alden Lavery, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, Christopher Martin Paparella, Ethan Edward Litwin, Morgan Jessen Feder, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Marc Alan Weinstein, U.S. Attorney's Office, David Robert Gelfand, Melanie Westover, Sean Miles Murphy, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, Chet Alan Kronenberg, Joan Eileen Flaherty, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Alan Schoenfeld, David Sapir Lesser, Fraser Lee Hunter, Jr., Colin Reardon, Wilmer, Cutler, Hale & Dorr, L.L.P., New York, NY, David R. Boyd, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, Alan M. Wiseman, Jonathan James Gimblett, Thomas A. Isaacson, Covington & Burling, L.L.P., David Jarrett Arp, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, Christopher Michael Viapiano, Daryl Andrew Libow, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Washington, DC, Robert B. Silver, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, Armonk, NY, David Marx, Mark Jacob Altschul, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP, Lawrence H. Heftman, Matthew Charles Crowl, Schiff Hardin LLP, William J. Nissen, Sidley Austin, LLP, Arthur W. Hahn, Brian J. Poronsky, Christian T. Kemnitz, Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, Chicago, IL, Roger Brian Cowie, Locke, Liddell & Sapp, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, Andrea J. Robinson, Harriet Hoder, Wilmerhale LLP, Boston, MA, Gary Richard Spratling, Joel Steven Sanders, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NAOMI REICE BUCHWALD, District Judge.

I.Introduction

These cases arise out of the alleged manipulation of the London InterBank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), an interest rate benchmark that has been called “the world's most important number.”British Bankers' Ass'n, BBA LIBOR: The World's Most Important Number Now Tweets Daily(May 21, 2009), http:// www. bbalibor. com/ news- releases/ bba- libor- the- worlds- most- important- number- now- tweets- daily.As numerous newspaper articles over the past year have reported, domestic and foreign regulatory agencies have already reached settlements with several banks involved in the LIBOR-setting process, with penalties reaching into the billions of dollars.

The cases presently before us do not involve governmental regulatory action, but rather are private lawsuits by persons who allegedly suffered harm as a result of the suppression of LIBOR.Starting in mid–2011, such lawsuits began to be filed in this District and others across the country.On August 12, 2011, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred several such cases from other districts to this Court for “coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.”In re Libor–Based Fin. Instruments Antitrust Litig.,802 F.Supp.2d 1380, 1381(J.P.M.L.2011);see also28 U.S.C. § 1407(2006).

On June 29, 2012, defendants filed motions to dismiss.Four categories of cases are subject to defendants' motions to dismiss: cases brought by (1) over-the-counter (“OTC”)plaintiffs, (2) exchange-based plaintiffs, (3) bondholder plaintiffs, and (4)Charles Schwabplaintiffs(the “Schwab plaintiffs”).The first three categories each involve purported class actions, and each has a single lead action.The lead action for the OTC plaintiffs is Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Bank of America(11 Civ. 5450); the lead action for the exchange-based plaintiffs is FTC Capital GmbH v. Credit Suisse Group(11 Civ. 2613), and the lead action for the bondholder plaintiffs is Gelboim v. Credit Suisse Group(12 Civ. 1025).By contrast, the Schwab plaintiffs do not seek to represent a class, but rather have initiated three separate cases: Schwab Short–Term Bond Market Fund...