Banks Call For Do-Over In Antitrust Suit After Judge Accused Of Bias

A lawyer for a group of major banks on Monday opposed an effort to revive an antitrust lawsuit based on claims that a judge who belatedly revealed owning stock in two of the companies involved defendants should have been sidelined, reported Reuters.

The investor plaintiffs’ request to reassign the case from US District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan in order to “void” his earlier rulings is “meritless,” Sullivan & Cromwell partner Matthew Porpora said in a court filing on behalf of the defendants.

Porpora and the plaintiffs’ attorneys separately responded to an invitation from the New York federal court clerk to address Ramos’ acknowledgment of a “potential conflict” based on his ownership of stock in Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG. Ramos’ financial holdings “neither affected nor impacted his decisions in this case,” the clerk said.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016, accused about a dozen banks of colluding to manipulate prices in the roughly $9 trillion government agency bond market.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.