Legal action against Credit Suisse over “Last Look” practices continues
Whereas the legal action against Citi and Morgan Stanley over “Last Look” practices was dismissed by Alpari (US) earlier this week, the legal action against a number of banks, including Credit Suisse, continues.
After Alpari (US) filed a number of lawsuits over “Last Look” practices against leading banks in July this year, this week saw the proceedings diverge across defendants. The legal actions against Citi and Morgan Stanley were brought to an end, whereas the proceedings against Goldman Sachs, RBS and BNP Paribas continue.
The legal action against Credit Suisse Group AG (VTX:CSGN), Credit Suisse AG, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA), LLC, over the alleged application of “Last Look” practices continues too. This was indicated by court documents, seen by FinanceFeeds.
The Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order state that the parties in this case do not consent to conducting all further proceedings before a United States Magistrate Judge. The parties have not yet discussed settlement. They have to update the Court before September 22, 2017, on the arbitration issue. If the parties do not agree to arbitrate, then by October 13, 2017, Credit Suisse shall file any motion to compel arbitration.
According to the Complaint filed by Alpari (US), Credit Suisse is alleged to have first implemented Last Look practices on PrimeTrade no later than January 1, 2008. On PrimeTrade and Credit Suisse Plus, and the rest of Credit Suisse proprietary platforms, Credit Suisse is said to have further applied Last Look to all API/FIX and ECN trades, as well as a portion of those customers using Credit Suisse’s GUI.
Along with other top-tier banks targeted in the “Last Look” cases, Credit Suisse is accused of breach of contracts on its proprietary trading platforms, breach of contracts on ECNs, as well as of unjust enrichment. The class claims that Credit Suisse has caused damage to Alpari (US) and other FX market participants due to the application of Last Look practices.
Alpari (US) requests that the Court “award Plaintiff and Class members damages, punitive damages, and/or restitution in an amount to be determined at trial”. Although the precise amount of damages is not known, the Plaintiff – Alpari (US), expects that class-wide damages will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Earlier this week, Alpari (US) voluntarily dismissed the “Last Look” actions against Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Morgan Stanley. The voluntary dismissal was seen as proper because the defendants had not filed an answer, a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment; and because the dismissal will not bind or prejudice any party or member of the putative class, as the court had not considered or certified any class in the litigation thus far.
The case is captioned ALPARI (US), LLC v. Credit Suisse Group AG et al (1:17-cv-05282).
