NY Judge approves consolidation of four FXCM class actions

Further to FinanceFeeds’ article about the motion by a number of plaintiffs to combine their class actions against Global Brokerage Inc (NASDAQ:GLBR), formerly known as FXCM Inc, there has been an Order by Judge Ronnie Abrams, who is assigned to the cases.

Judge Ronnie Abrams, from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, has issued an order approving the combination of four of the cases against FXCM, according to a report from Law360. In addition, The Rosen Law Firm has been named lead class counsel, whereas its clients Shipco Transport Inc. and 683 Capital Partners LP have been picked as lead plaintiffs.

The choice of the lead plaintiffs is attributed to the fact that they had the biggest financial stake in the case. As FinanceFeeds has reported earlier, 683 Capital Partners, LP is a private investment fund founded as a Delaware limited partnership. The gross asset value of the fund at the end of March 2017 was $853,744,010.

A 13F filing with the SEC, submitted by 683 Capital Management LLC for the quarter to December 31, 2016, shows a holding in FXCM. The principal amount is 17,000,000 shares, whereas the value is $9,180×1,000.

The official position by FXCM regarding the legal actions against it is contained in its annual report for 2016. The firm’s results for the first quarter of 2017 have yet to be announced and we expect to see more details about the legal actions progress and eventual costs associated with them, as these results become public. In its previous report, FXCM stated it was aware of three securities class actions filed against it in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and noted that it would decisively defend itself.

Consolidation of several cases is a usual procedure when multiple cases have a common aim and consolidating them can lead to expenses reduction for the court and the sides. The combined action may lead to a single judgment or, sometimes, to separate judgments.