Alpari (US) drops “Last Look” legal action against Goldman Sachs
Alpari (US) has dismissed its action against Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co without prejudice.
Now-defunct broker Alpari (US) on Thursday dropped its legal action against Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC concerning “Last Look” practices. The notice of voluntary dismissal, filed by the Plaintiffs with the New York Southern District Court, states that Alpari (US) dismisses the action without prejudice.
The notice, seen by FinanceFeeds, stipulates that voluntary dismissal is proper because: (1) defendants have not filed an answer, a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment; (2) this dismissal will not bind or prejudice any party or member of the putative class, as the Court has not considered or certified any class in this litigation thus far; and (3) this voluntary dismissal was entered into voluntarily by Plaintiff with no promise or expectation of any payment of money or any consideration whatsoever.
The case was launched on July 12, 2017, as a part of a bigger set of “Last Look” legal proceedings against big banks, including Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE:RBS), Credit Suisse Group AG (VTX:CSGN) and BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP). All of the defendants were alleged to have caused damage to Alpari (US) and other FX market participants due to the employment of Last Look practices. All of the defendants were accused of breach of contracts on their proprietary trading platforms, breach of contracts on ECNs, as well as of unjust enrichment.
Goldman Sachs, in particular, was alleged to have first used intentional delay, or Last Look, on Redi FX when it was launched in February 2008, and on Marquee Trader when it was launched in 2013. On Redi FX and Marquee Trader, Goldman Sachs is said to have further applied Last Look to all API/FIX and ECN trades, as well as a portion of those customers using Goldman Sachs’s GUI.
Although the precise amount of damages in the “Last Look” cases is not known, the Plaintiff – Alpari (US), has forecast that class-wide damages will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In September this year, Alpari (US) dropped its legal action against Citi and Morgan Stanley. The proceedings against Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas continue. The plaintiffs filed their first amended complaint against these three banks on October 19, 2017.
