Deutsche Bank secures Court approval of settlement in LIBOR manipulation case
Deutsche Bank has secured Court approval of a settlement in a lawsuit alleging manipulation of U.S. Dollar LIBOR between August 1, 2007 and May 31, 2010.
On March 15, 2021, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the New York Southern District Court signed an order granting final approval of the settlement between lender plaintiffs and Deutsche Bank. As FX News Group has reported, the settlement class includes:
“All lending institutions headquartered in the United States, including its fifty (50) states and United States territories, that originated loans, held loans, held interests in loans, owned loans, owned interests in loans, purchased loans, purchased interests in loans, sold loans, or sold interests in loans with interest rates based upon U.S. Dollar LIBOR between August 1, 2007 and May 31, 2010 (the “Class Period”)”.
Lender Plaintiffs, on behalf of the Settlement Class, have agreed to settle all claims against dismissed defendant Deutsche Bank in exchange for a cash payment of $425,000 and cooperation. The sum of $425,000 will be added to the $35 million in proceeds from previous settlements in this case.
All of the claims asserted in the Lender Action are hereby dismissed on the merits with prejudice as to the Settling Defendant. The Court ordered that the releasing parties release and forever discharge the released parties from any and all released claims.
According to the plaintiffs, this is a favorable result given the many inherent risks in litigation. They note that the settlement was reached through arm’s length negotiation over an extended period of time. The terms of the settlement were negotiated through extensive discussions over the course of several months.
In the absence of this settlement, the litigation of this complex case could likely consume many more years of the Court’s resources, the plaintiffs warn, adding that “the defendants are wealthy global financial institutions that are represented by some of the best law firms in the United States and can afford to litigate this case indefinitely”. Had the defendants not agreed to settle, they were prepared, and had the wherewithal, to vigorously contest liability.