Financial Institution Litigation
- Successfully defended Citizens Bank against putative class allegations of aiding and abetting fraud and breach of fiduciary in connection with a $100 million Ponzi scheme. The Western District of NY dismissed the complaint, with prejudice. The dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Representing a global investment management firm in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the recovery and enforcement of a $300 million arbitration award issued to our client.
- Represented Goldman Sachs and a group of underwriters in connection with claims arising from the IPO and subsequent earnings restatement of Opnext, Inc. We obtained an expeditious resolution of the matter that resulted in a full release of our client with no admission of liability and no payment.
- Represented an FCM in a class action lawsuit defending against claims alleging that the firm engaged in, or assisted, a scheme to manipulate the prices of palladium and platinum futures contracts traded on NYMEX.
- Defended Lloyds Bank in a fraudulent conveyance action. The month-long trial concerned the business enterprise valuation of a machine-tool manufacturer that later went bankrupt. The trial ended with low damages against our client, which were further reduced after an appeal, remand, and settlement.
- Defended an international commercial bank in an employment whistleblowing case relating to money laundering claims. After being engaged to replace existing trial counsel on the eve of trial, we secured a reversal of a denial of summary judgement from a Federal District Court that resulted in a prompt and favorable resolution of the action.
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice of federal and state court complaints asserted against an FCM by investors in a commodity pool who alleged that the FCM aided and abetted a Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the pool operator. We secured a favorable opinion by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression interpreting the Commodity Exchange Act.
- Defended a leading FCM against claims brought by another FCM who accused our client of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, breach of contract and negligence in connection with futures and options trading in an omnibus clearing account. After the Southern District of New York dismissed the complaint, we obtained a dismissal with prejudice of a new complaint filed in state court.
- Represented a brokerage firm in enforcing common law and contractual obligations against a former employee who removed confidential and proprietary information from the firm.
- Represented a private equity company and its principals in a highly contested derivative litigation in the Chancery Court of Delaware alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims by majority shareholders and management of the company.
- Represented a major bank/liquidity provider in a dispute over the sequence and priority of payments on student-loan revenue bonds.
- Defended a leading futures and options broker in a civil litigation stemming from a $200 million fraud perpetrated by a hedge fund manager.
- Represented a broker-dealer and its employees in a "raiding" dispute brought by a rival broker-dealer, including claims of corporate espionage and theft of trade secrets. After a number of plaintiff's claims were dismissed at the pleading stage, we obtained summary judgment in favor of our clients and dismissal of the remaining causes of action.
- Defended a publicly traded hospitality REIT against allegations by its counterparty, a large multi-national investment bank, that two of our client’s funds defaulted on their obligations under a $1.2 billion credit default swap.
- Represented the general partner of a hedge fund and its members in a dispute with a former employee who claimed to own a minority interest in the general partner.
- Successfully appealed decision dismissing investment funds’ action for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty against former counsel.
- Represented an FCM in an arbitration brought by a software developer to recover fees allegedly owed for the use of a platform to support OTC brokers in the fixed income and derivative markets.
- Represented a major commodities broker in a class action brought in Florida state court. After twice dismissing the complaint and granting plaintiffs leave to replead, the court finally dismissed all claims with prejudice and awarded our client its costs and attorneys' fees. The appellate court affirmed.
Case Study
Mintz’s litigation team achieved a significant victory for Citizens Bank, securing a dismissal of claims by a class of investors that Citizens and a co-defendant aided and abetted a $102 million Ponzi scheme that started in 2008. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the dismissal.
Case Study
Mintz represented Anglo Irish Bank in a successful New York County Supreme Court action to foreclose $165 million in construction loan mortgages. The judge authorized a receiver to complete construction of the building and charge the financing of the bank to the mortgager.
Case Study
Mintz secured an arbitration award of more than $140 million for bank and insurance bondholders following a Eurobond default. The matter against the British Virgin Islander bond issuer, the Egyptian guarantor companies, and two individual owners was found to involve fraud and misappropriations of assets.