Scott+Scott Gears up its FX Claim in London
Scott+Scott first filed a lawsuit in the USA on behalf of a proposed class in In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:13-cv-7789 (S.D.N.Y.) on November 1, 2013.
In August 2015, Scott+Scott announced recent settlements with Barclays PLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BNP Paribas SA, HSBC PLC, and the Royal Bank of Scotland (the sums of these settlements per defendant have not yet been disclosed). In May 2015, Scott+Scott announced a settlement with Citigroup Inc. and Citibank, N.A. that requires it to pay $394 million, while also providing cooperation to the plaintiffs in their prosecution of claims against the remaining defendants. In April 2015, Scott+Scott announced a settlement with the Bank of America Corporation and Bank of America, N.A. which includes $180 million in monetary relief and cooperation. In March 2015, Scott+Scott announced that it had reached a settlement with UBS AG, UBS Group AG, and UBS Securities LLC for $135 million, in addition to their cooperation. In January 2015, the firm announced a settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and JPM Chase Bank, N.A. for $99.5 million, in addition to their cooperation. All told, the settlements total to over $2 billion with the breakdown per defendant disclosed to date for the sum of $808,500,000.
Following Scott+Scott's success in the USA, the firm has been instructed by global clients to investigate the potential launch of similar actions in Europe. In light of the advice provided by Daniel Jowell QC, Scott+Scott intends to vigorously pursue claims in Europe against financial institutions that had conspired to manipulate the $5.4 trillion-per-day foreign exchange market, on the behalf of affected parties. While Scott+Scott's legal teams are investigating and preparing the case that will be launched in Europe, what is increasingly clear is that the manipulation was on a truly global scale and to a much broader degree than initially understood so that those responsible should be held accountable for their misconduct in multiple jurisdictions.
Today's announcement follows the opening of Scott+Scott's London office earlier this summer. Belinda Hollway, head of the London office said, "With the benefit of advice fromtheoutstanding and experienced barrister, Daniel Jowell QC, we are only more certain that we will have a strong case to bringto the courtsin Europe and we wish to pursuethis case vigorously. We will work with our clients to help them find the most effective way to bring these complex cases to court. The scale of the conspiracy meant that most institutions were affected,enabling Scott+Scott to assess damages accurately and therefore presentacomprehensive claim."
David Scott, Managing Partner at Scott+Scott LLP added, "We are very pleased to receive Daniel's advice but it comes as no surprise as we have been working on this litigation for three years. This is a complex case with sophisticated and diverse claimants facing experienced defendants. Scott+Scott has developed expertise in the foreign exchange market, thoroughly understands this long-runningmisconduct and is therefore best positioned to find the most effective way to seek redress for ourclients' losses across Europe."
