Judge Buchwald

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In an opinion yesterday, Judge Schofield denied various banks’ motion to dismiss a price fixing case concerning a foreign exchange benchmark called the “Fix.” Notably, Judge Schofield distinguished her ruling from Judge Buchwald’s ruling dismissing a similar case concerning the LIBOR benchmark (covered here).  Judge Buchwald had ruled there could be no “antitrust injury” because LIBOR is set by banks acting “cooperative[ly]” (as opposed to acting as competitors) to estimate their borrowing costs, whereas, as Judge Schofield pointed out, banks establish the Fix by actual transactions. Judge Schofield went on to disagree with the LIBOR ruling, to the extent it could be read to require a showing, at the pleading stage, that the injury alleged could not have resulted from unilateral (as opposed to collusive) conduct:
Continue Reading In Allowing Foreign Exchange Price-Fixing Case to Proceed, Judge Schofield Disagrees With Judge Buchwald’s LIBOR Ruling

In a motion yesterday, various banks involved in the multidistrict litigation relating to alleged LIBOR manipulation moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.  They argue that LIBOR is set in set in London by foreign banks or foreign employees and, thus, the allegations lack a sufficient connection to the United States:
Continue Reading Banks Challenge Jurisdiction in LIBOR Suits; Emphasize That LIBOR Is Set In London

The producers of American Idol last week moved to dismiss a discrimination suit alleging that African-American contestants with prior arrests or convictions were shamed and disqualified while similarly-situated white contestants were promoted as “second chance” stories. (See our prior post here.) The motion begins by highlighting the success of African-American contestants generally:
Continue Reading American Idol Moves to Dismiss Discrimination Suit on First Amendment Grounds