Municipal VRDO Class Action Survives Banks’ Request for Dismissal
On November 2, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) largely denied a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought by the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore (collectively, the Plaintiffs) in May 2019. The Plaintiffs brought the action on behalf of themselves as well as other municipal issuers of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs) against several large banks (the Banks). Plaintiffs allege that beginning in April 2009 and continuing through November 2015 (the Class Period), these banks collectively forced state and local governments to pay inflated interest rates on the bonds and notes issued as VRDOs in derogation of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts, as well as various state laws. The Banks deny the allegations and claim that they are baseless.
Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled that the Federal antitrust claims, as well as some of the state law claims, could continue.
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