Hausfeld Announces $135M Settlement with UBS

March 13, 2015 (Washington, DC) — Hausfeld, a global claimants’ law firm dedicated to handling complex litigation, announced today that the plaintiffs in In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation, 13-cv-7789 (S.D.N.Y.) have reached a settlement with UBS AG, UBS Group AG, and UBS Securities LLC (collectively, “UBS”). Under the terms of the U.S. settlement, UBS will pay $135 million in cash. UBS will also provide the plaintiffs with substantial cooperation; this cooperation will assist in plaintiffs’ prosecution of the litigation against the remaining defendants. The settlement with UBS comes only weeks after the plaintiffs announced a $99.5 million settlement with JPMorgan and after the court overseeing the litigation denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Hausfeld serves as co-lead counsel on behalf of the putative class of plaintiffs with Scott + Scott LLP.

Speaking about the settlement, Michael D. Hausfeld, Chairman at Hausfeld, stated, “The settlement agreement with UBS provides a significant monetary recovery as well as substantial cooperation that will further our efforts to recover damages from financial institutions that we allege consciously manipulated the FX market to the detriment of their customer-clients.”   

The foreign exchange antitrust litigation alleges that UBS, along with many of the world’s largest financial institutions, conspired to manipulate the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates from 2003 to present. The case is currently pending before Judge Lorna G. Schofield in the Southern District of New York.

UBS AG and UBS Group AG announced settlement details in their annual report issued today.

Hausfeld attorneys working on the case are Michael D. Hausfeld, William P. Butterfield, Reena A. Gambhir, Timothy S. Kearns, and Nathaniel C. Giddings. 

About Hausfeld:

Hausfeld is a leading global law firm with offices in Brussels, London, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The firm has a broad range of complex litigation expertise, particularly in antitrust/competition, financial services, sports and entertainment, environmental, mass torts, consumer protection, and human rights matters, often with an international dimension. Hausfeld aims to achieve the best possible results for clients through its practical and commercial approach, avoiding litigation where feasible, yet litigating robustly when necessary. Hausfeld’s extensive experience with alternative and innovative fee models offers clients a diverse menu of engagement options and maximum flexibility in terms of managing their cost exposure.

For more information about the firm, including recent trial victories and landmark settlements, please visit: www.hausfeld.com.