A class action alleging JPMorgan violated the Commodity Exchange Act and the common law by intentionally manipulating the prices of Precious Metals Futures is close to its end, as indicated by a proposed order of settlement filed on November 19, 2021 in the New York Southern District Court.

The document, seen by FX News Group, represents a request by the plaintiffs: Dominick Cognata, Melissinos Trading, LLC, Casey Sterk, Kevin Maher, Kenneth Ryan, Robert Charles Class A, L.P., Robert L. Teel, Mark Serri, Yuri Alishaev, Abraham Jeremias, and Morris Jeremias, to the Court to issue an order for preliminary approval of the settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Class Plaintiffs and JPMorgan have reached an agreement to settle the action in exchange for a $60,000,000 cash payment to be made for the benefit of the Settlement Class and the dismissal of all claims against JPMorgan and the Individual Defendants.

The parties explain that they reached this settlement following months of hard-fought, arm’s length negotiations supervised by an experienced mediator, the exchange of substantial amounts of transaction data and other information, extensive presentations on liability and damages, and months of additional negotiations over the specific terms of the Settlement Agreement. Class Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel, Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. say that the proposed settlement is an excellent result for the Settlement Class.

The Settlement is separate from, and in addition to, JPMorgan’s settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut (USAOC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

If the settlement is approved, it will bring to an end an action that was launched in November 2018. The lawsuit alleged JPMorgan violated the CEA and the common law by intentionally manipulating the prices of Precious Metals Futures traded on the Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Options on Precious Metals Futures from at least March 1, 2008 through August 31, 2016.

Specifically, Class Plaintiffs alleged that JPMorgan utilized a manipulative technique called “spoofing,” which involved purposefully placing orders with the intent to cancel those orders prior to execution to send false and illegitimate supply and demand signals to an otherwise efficient market.