Fire & Police Pension Ass'n of Colo v. Bank of Montreal
Fire & Police Pension Ass'n of Colo v. Bank of Montreal
Opinion of the Court
ANALISA TORRES, United States District Judge *689Plaintiff, Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado, brings this action against Defendants,
BACKGROUND
Except as noted, the following facts are taken from the complaint, which the Court accepts as true for purposes of these motions. See ATSI Commc'ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd. ,
This is an action against thirty-three corporate defendants, comprising parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates of nine international banking institutions who participated in the rate-setting process of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate ("CDOR").
CDOR is "the benchmark used to price Canadian dollar-denominated derivatives in the United States." Id. ¶ 268. It is supposed to reflect the cost of borrowing Canadian dollars in North America. Id. ¶ 3. CDOR is calculated daily based on submissions from the "CDOR Panel"
Manipulation of CDOR is central to the claims of the complaint. CDOR is used to price various types of derivatives, which are financial instruments priced, benchmarked, *691and/or settled based on CDOR ("CDOR-Based Derivatives"). Id. ¶ 2. Changes in CDOR, therefore, impact those derivative transactions. Id. For example, a swap is a derivative in which "two parties exchange the obligation to make a series of periodic payments (e.g. monthly) based on [an] underlying principal amount (e.g. $ 1 billion CAD) for [a] set period (e.g. one year)." Id. ¶ 277. CDOR determines the amount paid or received by each party in a CDOR-Based swap. Id. ¶ 278. There are many different types of CDOR-Based swaps, but in a "plain vanilla" interest rate swap, one party makes payments based on a variable rate (e.g. CDOR) while another makes payments based on a fixed rate. Id. ¶ 279. In that situation, the party making payments based on the variable rate (CDOR) would benefit if CDOR were suppressed. CDOR also impacts "CDOR-Based Loans" in which the loan's interest rate is based on CDOR. Id. ¶ 257-58, 299.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants conspired to suppress CDOR during the Class Period by submitting artificially low rates that did not reflect the rate at which they were lending Canadian dollars in North America in order to increase profits from their CDOR-Based Derivatives positions. Id. ¶¶ 5-6, 329. Plaintiff claims that prior to the start of the Class Period in 2007, Defendants had large CDOR-Based Loan portfolios in which borrowers made interest payments based on CDOR, but in 2007, they reduced their CDOR-Based lending and increased sales of CDOR-Based Derivatives. Id. ¶¶ 299-302. Plaintiff alleges that this created a motive and financial incentive for Defendants to suppress CDOR to reduce the amount of interest they were required to pay on their CDOR-Based Derivatives. Id. ¶ 309.
In support of its claims, Plaintiff submits the following evidence. First, in terms of Defendants' collusion, Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that Defendants submitted identical or very similar CDOR rates for certain tenors at various points during the Class Period. Id. § IV.A. Second, to support its claim that CDOR was suppressed, Plaintiff compares CDOR to two other allegedly comparable benchmarks during the Class Period. Id. § III. Plaintiff also relies on a report of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC"). Id. ¶ 261. In 2011, the IIROC announced it was "initiating a review of the CDOR rate-setting process," id. ¶ 348, and in January 2013, it released a "report on its review of CDOR supervisory practices" and reported that CDOR submissions were "prepared by employees of [CDOR panel] dealers' parent/affiliate bank or by persons that are dually-employed at both the [CDOR panel dealer and the bank]," id. ¶ 261. The IIROC report recommended that the rate-setting process be clarified, and regulations be implemented to control the rate-setting process to prevent manipulation. Id.
Defendants are thirty-three financial institutions. Specifically, nine Defendants are parent banks and the other twenty-four are subsidiaries or affiliates of the parent banks. See id. § B. Many Defendants are incorporated and headquartered in foreign countries, including all of the parent banks with the exception of Bank of America. Id. ¶¶ 44, 72, 90, 106, 143, 163, 193, 213, 227. Sixteen Defendants served on the CDOR Panel, all of which are located abroad, see id. ¶¶ 44, 72, 90, 143, 163, 193, 136, 219, 227, 95, 243, 202, 248,
DISCUSSION
I. 12(b)(2) Legal Standard
On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), the "plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating personal jurisdiction over a person or entity against whom it seeks to bring suit." Penguin Grp. (USA) Inc. v. Am. Buddha ,
II. Analysis
"Jurisdiction to resolve cases on the merits requires ... authority over the parties (personal jurisdiction), so that the court's decision will bind them." Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co. ,
Foreign Defendants argue that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them because they are "headquartered in and chartered or organized under the laws of Canada, the United Kingdom, or Germany," and although some conduct a small portion of their business in the United States, none of that business is related to current lawsuit. Def. P.J. Mem. at 3, ECF No. 114. In particular, Foreign Defendants note that "with respect to those Foreign *693Defendants that served on the CDOR panel, the offices responsible for determining and transmitting their respective CDOR submissions to Thomson Reuters in Canada were all located in Canada."
"A prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction requires: (1) procedurally proper service of process, (2) 'a statutory basis for personal jurisdiction that renders such service of process effective' and (3) that 'the exercise of personal jurisdiction ... comport[s] with constitutional due process principles.' " In re Foreign Exch. Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litig. , No. 13 Civ. 7789,
"[T]o exercise jurisdiction consistent with due process, the defendant's suit related conduct must create a substantial connection with the forum." Walden v. Fiore ,
Courts engage in a two-step analysis to determine whether the exercise of specific jurisdiction is appropriate. See Licci v. Lebanese Canadian Bank, SAL ,
Plaintiff argues that there are three independent methods of establishing minimum contacts in this case: (1) purposeful availment; (2) purposeful direction; and (3) conspiracy jurisdiction. Pl. P.J. Opp. at 3. To evaluate Plaintiff's contentions, the Court will first determine the relevant "forum" for assessing the minimum contacts related to each federal claim. It will then analyze whether Foreign Defendants have purposefully availed themselves of the forum. Next, it will assess whether the Court has personal jurisdiction over Foreign Defendants under a purposeful direction theory. Then it will analyze whether Plaintiff has alleged conspiracy jurisdiction. Finally, if Plaintiff establishes minimum contacts, the Court will determine whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction would comport with fair play and substantial justice.
A. Relevant Forum
"For an out-of-state defendant in a federal question case, 'federal courts apply the forum state's personal jurisdiction rules if the applicable federal statute does not provide for national service of process.' " McGraw-Hill Glob. Educ. Holdings, LLC v. Mathrani ,
a. RICO Claim
The RICO statute "does not provide for nationwide personal jurisdiction over every defendant in every civil RICO case, no matter where the defendant is found.... [A] civil RICO action can only be brought in a district court where personal jurisdiction based on minimum contacts is established as to at least one defendant." PT United Can Co. Ltd. v. Crown Cork & Seal Co. ,
As discussed below, Plaintiff's RICO claim is impermissibly extraterritorial. This Court, therefore, cannot apply the RICO statute's nationwide personal jurisdiction provision. Instead, the Court will apply the "personal jurisdiction rules of the forum state, provided that those rules are consistent with the requirements of Due Process." Penguin Grp. (USA) Inc. ,
b. CEA and Sherman Act Claims
Although the Second Circuit has not opined on this issue, courts in this District have applied a nationwide contacts test to determine personal jurisdiction for CEA and Sherman Act claims. Sullivan v. Barclays PLC , No. 13 Civ. 2811,
B. Purposeful Availment Theory
Plaintiff alleges that Foreign Defendants purposefully availed themselves of the United States by "transacting CDOR-Based Derivatives with investors in the U.S. while manipulating CDOR." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 3-10. The Court will conduct a two-step analysis. First, the Court will determine whether the sale of CDOR-Based Derivatives in the United States in connection with a CDOR manipulation scheme amount to the "suit-related" contacts which establish the basis for personal jurisdiction. If the sales are "suit-related," the Court will then examine whether Plaintiff has adequately alleged that each Foreign Defendant sold CDOR-Based Derivatives in the relevant forum.
First, the Court rejects Plaintiff's argument that the sales relate to the CDOR manipulation because Plaintiff transacted in CDOR-Based Derivatives in the United States, and was, therefore, injured in the United States, Pl. P.J. Opp. at 8,
Next, Plaintiff alleges that the sale of CDOR-Based Derivatives in the United States constitutes "suit-related" conduct because Foreign Defendants' "substantial CDOR-Based Derivatives positions in the United States provided the motivation for manipulating CDOR and demonstrate that they reached into the forum to profit from their scheme." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 7. In other words, the sales are related to Plaintiff's claims because it was a profit-motivated scheme and the sales provided the mechanism to realize the profits.
*696As to this argument, Charles Schwab Corp. v. Bank of Am. Corp. ,
Post- Schwab , at least one court in this District has held that U.S.-based trading is related to a foreign conspiracy to suppress a foreign interest rate benchmark if the conspiracy is profit-motivated. See FrontPoint Asian Event Driven Fund, L.P. v. Citibank, N.A. , No. 16 Civ. 5263,
This Court, however, need not decide that issue because Plaintiff has failed to plausibly allege a profit motive. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants had a common profit motive to suppress CDOR because they had a "net-short exposure to CDOR during the Class Period" because they "held substantially more CDOR-Based Derivatives contracts, where they made interest payments, than CDOR-Based Loans, where they received interest." Am. Compl. ¶¶ 7, 308. In other words, Defendants profited if CDOR decreased because they paid less in interest payments. This theory requires that Defendants held a net-short exposure to CDOR because otherwise any profits gained as a result of paying less interest would be offset by losses from receiving less interest as a lender. See Am. Compl. ¶ 298 ("Defendants had a common motive to suppress CDOR during the Class Period as their business shifted away from CDOR-Based lending to sale of CDOR-Based Derivatives"). See also Gelboim v. Bank of Am. Corp. ,
At the outset, the Court notes that courts in this Circuit have found it difficult to plausibly allege a profit-motivated conspiracy, particularly if the profits depend on all the defendants maintaining the same position for the entire class period. See In re LIBOR-Based Fin. Instruments Antitrust Litig. , No. 11 MDL 2262,
At this stage, the Court accepts the facts alleged in the complaint as true, *698and construes them in the light most favorable to Plaintiff. See ATSI Commc'ns ,
As "further factual enhancement" to support these "naked assertion[s]," Twombly ,
Accepting as true that the chart establishes that Defendants held more CDOR-Based Derivatives than CDOR-Based Loans, "the [chart] does not plausibly support an allegation that any particular bank was net short at any particular time (let alone that all of the [d]efendants were net short throughout the alleged conspiratorial period)." Commodity Exch., Inc. ,
*699Third, and most importantly, accepting Plaintiff's assertion that the chart establishes that Defendants individually and collectively held more CDOR-Based Derivatives than CDOR-Based Loans, it does not distinguish between CDOR-Based Derivatives that obligated Defendants to make payments based on CDOR ("CDOR-Paying Derivatives") versus those that obligated Defendants to receive payments based on CDOR ("CDOR-Receiving Derivatives"). As Plaintiff itself alleges, in a CDOR-Derivative transaction a Defendant could either be the party making payments based on CDOR or the party receiving payments based on CDOR. See e.g. , Am. Compl. ¶¶ 279, 284 ("[I]n the most common 'plain vanilla' interest rate swap, the parties agree to a 'fixed-for-floating' exchange in which one party will make payments based on a variable price or rate, e.g. CDOR, while the other will make payments based on a fixed rate."). In an individual transaction, therefore, a Defendant only profits from the suppression of CDOR if it is making payments based on CDOR, rather than receiving payments based on CDOR. In the aggregate, because both CDOR-Based Loans and CDOR-Receiving Derivatives obligate a Defendant to receive payments based on CDOR, a Defendant would only have a "net short exposure to CDOR," and profit from CDOR suppression, if its portfolio of CDOR-Paying Derivatives outweighed its portfolio of CDOR-Loans and CDOR-Receiving Derivatives. Because the Chart does not distinguish between CDOR-Paying Derivatives and CDOR-Receiving Derivatives, the complaint does not plausibly allege that Defendants were "[net] short at any particular point during the Class Period," Commodity Exch., Inc. , 213 F.Supp.3d at 663, and therefore had a profit-based motive. See also In re London Silver Fixing, Ltd., Antitrust Litig. , 213 F.Supp.3d at 561 n.20 (rejecting argument that Defendant stood to benefit from conspiracy because it held a large unhedged position when the data provided detailed Defendant's "total derivatives positions, telling the Court nothing about its position specifically in the [relevant] market.").
Furthermore, the complaint generally alleges that Defendants grew their CDOR-Based Derivatives portfolios during the Class Period, but it similarly fails to distinguish between CDOR-Paying and CDOR-Receiving Derivatives. See, e.g. , Am. Compl. ¶ 302 ("RBC and TD Bank reported that they more than doubled their positions in CDOR-Based Derivatives ... during 2007 and 2008."); id. ¶ 303 ("Defendants ... began heavily marketing and selling interest rate swaps, FRAs, and other CDOR-Based Derivatives.").
Tellingly, Plaintiff does not respond to this argument directly in its opposition brief-instead arguing that "[t]he [c]omplaint alleges in detail how Defendants created large 'proprietary trading' operations for the express purpose of trading CDOR-Based Derivatives on the firm's own account to generate trading profits." Pl. Opp. at 12. The Court rejects Plaintiff's argument because although the complaint references the existence of trading desks, and that traders were compensated based on their profits, it does not allege that those desks caused persistent net short positions.
C. Purposeful Direction Theory
Alternatively, Plaintiff argues that the Court has specific personal jurisdiction under a "purposeful direction theory." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 10. Under this theory, "the exercise of personal jurisdiction may be constitutionally permissible if the defendant expressly aimed its conduct at the forum." Licci ,
Essentially, Plaintiff argues that Foreign Defendants expressly aimed their conduct at the forum because they "maintained substantial CDOR-Based Derivatives positions in the forum while they manipulated CDOR for profit." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 10. Specifically, "Defendants' large CDOR-Based Derivatives positions in the forum create the plausible inference that they intended to benefit these positions when manipulating CDOR." Id. at 13. However, as discussed above, the complaint fails to plausibly allege that Defendants intended to profit from CDOR-Based Derivatives trading because it does not adequately allege that they held a net short exposure (and, therefore, would profit if CDOR was suppressed). Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to establish personal jurisdiction as to any Foreign Defendant on the basis of purposeful direction.
D. Conspiracy Jurisdiction Theory
To allege a conspiracy theory of jurisdiction, Plaintiff "must allege that (1) a conspiracy existed; (2) the defendant participated in the conspiracy; and (3) a co-conspirator's overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy had sufficient contacts with a [forum] to subject that co-conspirator to jurisdiction in that state." Schwab ,
Plaintiff alleges that the "[c]omplaint satisfies this test because it plausibly alleges that: (1) a conspiracy to unlawfully boost trading profits by manipulating CDOR existed; (2) each [Foreign] Defendant participated in the conspiracy, and (3) a co-conspirator-including the U.S.-based Defendants that do not contest personal jurisdiction-took overt acts in the forum (selling price-fixed CDOR-Based Derivatives here) and directed at the forum (by submitting false CDOR submissions directed in substantial part at positions here)." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 16. The Court disagrees.
Here, as in Schwab , the complaint "does not permit an inference that certain Defendants' sales in [the United States] were in furtherance of the conspiracy." Schwab ,
E. Pendent Jurisdiction
Thus far, the Court's discussion of personal jurisdiction has focused on Plaintiff's federal law claims. "The doctrine of pendent personal jurisdiction provides that 'where a federal statute authorizes nationwide service of process, and the federal and state-law claims derive from a common nucleus of operative fact, the district court may assert personal jurisdiction over the parties to the related state-law claims even if personal jurisdiction is not otherwise available.' " Schwab ,
The Court has concluded that Plaintiff has not made a prima facie showing that Foreign Defendants are subject to the personal jurisdiction of this Court. The Court, therefore, is "without a basis to exercise pendent jurisdiction over [ ] Foreign Defendants in respect of [Plaintiffs'] state law claims." Dennis ,
Accordingly, Foreign Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is GRANTED.
F. Jurisdictional Discovery
Plaintiff argues alternatively that it is entitled to limited jurisdictional discovery "to confirm that [Foreign] Defendants established substantial CDOR-Based Derivatives positions in the forum while manipulating CDOR." Pl. P.J. Opp. at 19-20. "Whether to allow jurisdictional discovery is within the discretion of this Court." Laydon v. Mizuho Bank, Ltd. , No. 12 Civ. 3419,
III. Rule 12(b)(6) Legal Standard
To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter ... to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
IV. Analysis
Having dismissed Foreign Defendants' for lack of personal jurisdiction, the Court will now consider the remaining Defendants' motion to dismiss. The Court will first address Defendants' arguments with respect to Plaintiff's Sherman Act claim. Defendants argue that Plaintiff's Sherman Act claim should be dismissed because it (1) is partially time barred, (2) Plaintiff lacks standing to bring the claim, and (3) Plaintiff has failed to plausibly allege an antitrust conspiracy. Def. Mem. at 8-25, ECF No. 132.
A. Sherman Act
1. Statute of Limitations
Defendants argue that Plaintiff's Sherman Act claim is partially time barred with respect to all Defendants and fully time barred as to Bank of America and its subsidiaries and affiliates. Def. Mem. at 41. Plaintiff alleges that the statute of limitations was tolled because of Defendants' misconduct. Pl. Opp. at 38-39.
a. Limitations Period
"A Sherman Act § 1 claim is subject to a four-year statute of limitations that runs from the date of injury." In re Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litig. ,
Defendants further argue that the Sherman Act claim against Defendant Bank of America and its subsidiaries and affiliates
b. Fraudulent Concealment
"[A] statute of limitations may be tolled due to the defendant's fraudulent concealment." Koch v. Christie's Int'l PLC ,
Plaintiff has adequately pleaded that Defendants concealed the existence of Plaintiff's cause of action. In the Second Circuit, plaintiffs may "prove concealment by showing either that the defendants took affirmative steps to prevent plaintiffs' discovery of the conspiracy, or that the conspiracy itself was inherently self-concealing." In re Nine W. Shoes Antitrust Litig. ,
Plaintiff, however, fails to adequately plead the second prong of fraudulent concealment with particularity because the complaint does not specify when Plaintiff became aware of the violations. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 419-425; see also Hinds Cty., Miss. v. Wachovia Bank N.A. ,
Nor has Plaintiff plausibly alleged that it exercised due diligence. The complaint does not allege that Plaintiff performed due diligence, instead stating that "Plaintiff and the Class had no knowledge of Defendants' unlawful and self-concealing *704manipulative acts and could not have discovered same by exercise of due diligence." Am. Compl. ¶ 425. "Due diligence is not adequately pled if plaintiffs 'did not allege in the [complaint] that they exercised due diligence' or if they 'make no allegation of any specific inquiries of [defendants], [or] detail when such inquiries were made, to whom, regarding what, and with what response.' " Hinds Cty. ,
Finally, the Court rejects Plaintiff's argument that "Defendants' implicit and explicit representations of CDOR's accuracy toll all applicable statutes of limitation at the pleading stage." Pl. Opp. at 39. Schwab. ,
Moreover, Plaintiff has alleged no facts indicating why it waited until 2018 to bring this lawsuit when all of the information it relies upon in its complaint has been publicly available since 2013. Cf. Nine W. Shoes ,
Because Plaintiff has failed to satisfy prongs two and three of the fraudulent concealment test, the Court holds that the statute of limitations was not tolled by the doctrine of fraudulent concealment.
Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Sherman Act claim as time barred to the extent it is based on injuries incurred before January 12, 2014 is GRANTED. Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Sherman Act claim against the Bank of America Defendants as fully time barred is GRANTED.
2. Shearman Act Antitrust Standing
Defendants argue that Plaintiff has failed to plead an antitrust injury because "Plaintiff does not plausibly allege that CDOR was artificially suppressed when Plaintiff allegedly transacted in CDOR-linked instruments." Def. Mem. at 21. Plaintiff alleges that it was injured because it entered into CDOR-Based Derivatives transactions during the Class Period, including "more than $ 1 billion in Canadian dollar foreign exchange forwards" and "more than $ 80 billion in CDOR-based interest rate swaps." Am. Compl. ¶ 397. Because the CDOR rate was *705"artificially low" at that time due to Defendant's manipulation, Plaintiff received less interest on its interest rate swaps and paid more in exchange for Canadian dollars under the foreign exchange forward agreements
To plead antitrust standing, Plaintiff must allege that "(1) it suffered an antitrust injury and (2) it is an acceptable plaintiff to pursue the alleged antitrust violations." In re Aluminum Warehousing Antitrust Litig. ,
Plaintiff alleges that it adequately pleaded injury "by alleging that Defendants conspired to manipulate CDOR, a component of price in its CDOR-Based Derivatives transactions and that it got less for its money as a result." Pl. Opp. at 15-16 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Plaintiff further contends that its claims are supported by statistical analysis.
At the motion to dismiss stage, the Court accepts the factual allegations in the complaint as true and draws all reasonable inferences in Plaintiff's favor. ATSI Commc'ns ,
To demonstrate that CDOR was suppressed, Plaintiff compares it to another benchmark, the Canadian Prime Corporate Paper Rate ("CPCPR") which "measures the cost for corporations with the highest credit rating ... to borrow Canadian dollars on an unsecured basis for between one and three months." Am. Compl. ¶ 322. Plaintiff alleges that the two benchmarks should closely track each "absent manipulation because the cost of borrowing Canadian dollars through commercial paper transactions should be very close to the rate at which Defendants offer to lend Canadian dollars." Id. ¶ 323.
The Court is not persuaded by Plaintiff's arguments to the contrary. First, Plaintiff argues that "the fact that one tenor of CDOR may have been higher than comparable rates for portions of the Class Period does not undermine Plaintiff's allegations that CDOR remained artificially lower than it should have been throughout the Class Period." Pl. Opp. at 18. However, because Plaintiff's pre-2014 injuries are time barred, the only evidence Plaintiff puts forth in support of its claim that CDOR was suppressed is the chart, which demonstrates that CDOR was higher than the comparable rate for this tenor. This evidence undermines the complaint's two conclusory allegations that CDOR remained artificially low throughout the Class Period. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 399, 480. Accordingly, Plaintiff's factual allegations fail to "raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly ,
Plaintiff further argues that "[h]ow long Defendants' conspiracy caused CDOR to remain artificial" is a question of fact to be resolved at a later stage. Pl. Opp. at 18. The Court disagrees because the complaint does not plausibly allege that CDOR remained artificially low. See Commodity Exch., Inc. , 213 F.Supp.3d at 660 n.24 (plaintiffs failed to "plausibly plead the existence of an antitrust conspiracy prior to 2006 or after 2012 ... [b]ecause most of Plaintiffs' compelling facts, including those based on statistical analyses, are drawn from 2006 through 2012.").
*707Next, Plaintiff appears to argue that it is not required to provide proof of harm because this is a per se violation and, therefore, Plaintiff is only required to plead a "warping of market factors" to allege an antitrust injury. Pl. Opp. at 16-17 n.7. To support its argument, Plaintiff cites Gelboim ,
B. RICO Claim
Defendants assert that Plaintiff's RICO claim should be dismissed because (1) it is partially time barred, (2) it is impermissibly extraterritorial, (3) Plaintiff fails to allege the essential elements, and (4) Plaintiff lacks standing to bring its RICO claim. Def. Mem. at 31-34, 41.
1. Statute of Limitations
"RICO claims are subject to a four-year statute of limitations." Koch,
*708"Inquiry notice ... gives rise to a duty of inquiry when the circumstances would suggest to an investor of ordinary intelligence that she has been defrauded."
Defendants allege that Plaintiff was put on inquiry notice in 2007, when the divergent benchmark rates upon which Plaintiff bases its economic analysis were published. Def. Mem. at 38. Alternatively, Defendants argue that Plaintiff was put on inquiry notice in 2011 when IIROC announced that it would review the CDOR rate-setting process, or at the very latest, in January 2013 when IIROC released a report identifying a conflict of interest in the CDOR rate-setting process and recommending that regulations "be implemented to control the rate-setting process to prevent manipulation." Id. at 38-39 (quoting Am. Compl. ¶¶ 261, 263).
Raw data has been found to be insufficient to put a plaintiff on inquiry notice, see, e.g. , Sullivan ,
Defendants argue that Plaintiff's RICO claim is time barred to the extent that it is based on conduct that occurred before January 12, 2014 (four years before the lawsuit was filed). Def. Mem. at 41. Having found that Plaintiff was put on inquiry notice in January 2013, and because RICO claims have a four-year statute of limitations, the Court agrees. Accordingly, Plaintiff's RICO claim is dismissed to the extent that it is based on conduct that occurred before January 12, 2014.
2. Extraterritorial
Defendants next argue that Plaintiff's RICO claim is impermissibly extraterritorial. Def. Mem. at 31-31. The Court agrees.
"When a statute gives no clear indication of an extraterritorial application, it has none." Morrison v. Nat'l Austrl. Bank Ltd. ,
To state a RICO claim predicated on wire fraud, Plaintiff must allege "sufficient domestic conduct for the claims involving ... wire fraud ... to sustain the application of RICO." Laydon v. Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ,
Other courts in this District have found RICO claims to be impermissibly extraterritorial in cases involving alleged manipulation of foreign market interest rate benchmarks with similar domestic wire fraud allegations. See, e.g., Sonterra ,
C. CEA Claim
Defendants assert that Plaintiff's CEA claims should be dismissed as time-barred. Def. Mem. at 37. The Court agrees.
CEA claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. London Silver Fixing, Ltd. Antitrust Litig. ,
*711D. State Law Claims
Having dismissed Plaintiff's federal law claims, the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims pursuant to
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Foreign Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is GRANTED and Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiff's Sherman Act, CEA, and RICO claims. Plaintiff's state law claims are dismissed without prejudice to renewal in state court.
The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 113 and close the case.
SO ORDERED.
"Defendants" include the Bank of Montreal. BMO Financial Corp., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America N.A., Merrill Lynch. Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC World Markets Corp., CIBC World Markets, Inc., HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC Bank plc, HSBC North American Holdings Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Bank Canada, HSBC Bank U.S.A., N.A., HSBC USA Inc., National Bank of Canada, National Bank Financial Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Dominion Securities Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD Securities Inc., and TD Securities (USA) LLC.
The Foreign Defendants refer to the following entities: Bank of Montreal, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC World Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC Bank plc, HSBC Bank Canada, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., National Bank of Canada, National Bank Financial Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Dominion Securities, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Scotia Capital, Inc., Toronto-Dominion Bank, and TD Securities Inc.
The CDOR was formally referred to as the Canadian Dealer Offered Rate. Am. Compl. ¶ 265.
The complaint does not explicitly define the CDOR Panel, but it alleges that the CDOR Panel is responsible for setting the CDOR through its submissions. Am. Compl. ¶ 269.
The following Defendants served on the CDOR Panel during the Class Period: Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC Bank, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, HSBC Bank Canada, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Scotia Capital Inc., CIBC World Markets, Inc., National Bank Financial, Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Ltd., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., and TD Securities Inc. Am. Compl. ¶ 248.
Bankers' Acceptances are a type of money market instrument that function like a check where a bank "agrees to pay a specified amount of money-known as the BA's 'face value'-to the bearer on a certain future maturity date." Am. Compl. ¶ 250.
The "number of days between when a BA is issued and when it matures" determines its tenor. Am. Compl. ¶ 362. "[A] BA that matures in 90 days has a three-month tenor, while one maturing in 180 days has a six-month tenor."
The complaint does not allege where BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Scotia Capital Inc. or the National Bank Financial, Inc. are located. However, Foreign Defendants' declarations establish that they are Canadian companies. See Taves Decl. ¶ 4, ECF No. 116 (BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. "is a Canadian company that is incorporated in Canada"); Davis Decl. ¶ 3, ECF No. 127 (National Bank Financial, Inc. "is a Canadian corporation organized and existing under the laws of Canada"); Haskins Decl. ¶ 2, ECF No. 130 (Scotia Capital Inc. "is a Canadian investment dealer" with its headquarters in Canada). Because Plaintiff's complaint fails to allege where these banks are located, and Plaintiff otherwise does not dispute Defendants' assertions, the Court accepts Defendants' assertions as true for purposes of this motion.
This statement is supported by Foreign Defendants' sworn affidavits and Plaintiff does not contest it. See Taves Decl. BMO ¶¶ 13-15, ECF No. 115 (Bank of Montreal); Taves Decl. ¶¶ 13-15 (BMO Nesbitt Burns); Nilsson Decl. ¶ 5, ECF No. 129 (Bank of Nova Scotia); Matthews Decl. ¶ 8, ECF No. 117 (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce); Girouard Decl. ¶ 7, ECF No. 126 (National Bank of Canada); Serritella Decl. ¶ 8, ECF No. 128 (Royal Bank of Canada and RBC Dominion Securities); Jungreis Decl. ¶ 11, ECF No. 131 (Toronto-Dominion Bank and TD Securities Inc.); Henderson Decl. ¶ 6, ECF No. 124 (HSBC Bank Canada); Trasolini Decl. ¶ 9, ECF No. 125 (Merrill Lynch Canada); Haskins Decl. ¶¶ 2-3 (Scotia Capital Inc.); Davis Decl. ¶¶ 7-8, ECF No. 127 (National Bank Financial Inc.); Gynn Decl. ¶ 10, ECF No. 120 (Deutsche Bank Securities Ltd. and Deutsche Bank AG).
In a footnote, Plaintiff argues that certain Foreign Defendants consented to general jurisdiction in New York by registering under
The Court notes that the Second Circuit has interpreted
See, e.g. , Pl. P.J. Opp. at 8 ("Defendants' sales of price-fixed derivatives are 'related to' Plaintiff's antitrust claims because a plaintiff must transact in the restrained market to have an antitrust injury.");
The Dennis court found that the conspiracy alleged in Schwab was financially motivated because, in addition to its reputation-based goal, it was also undertaken because "[s]uppressing LIBOR ... had the immediate effect of lowering Defendants' interest payment obligations on financial instruments tied to LIBOR.'"
Additionally, the complaint in this case is weaker than those in other cases where courts have found a profit-motive to be adequately alleged. For example, in FrontPoint Asian Event Driven Fund, L.P. v. Citibank, N.A. , the Monetary Authority of Singapore found "attempts [by traders] to inappropriately influence benchmark submissions," and specifically, that "133 traders [participated] in attempts to inappropriately influence the submissions of financial benchmarks" during the class period.
Plaintiff alleges that the chart refers to the CDOR-Based Loans and CDOR-Based Derivatives held by seven Defendants. ¶ 308.
See, e.g. , Am. Compl. ¶ 118 ("Defendant HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. [...] is a subsidiary of HNAH. It is a registered broker-dealer of securities under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a registered Futures Commission Merchant with the CFTC. Defendant HSUSA trades interest rate derivatives, futures, options, and FX forwards, including CDOR-Based Derivatives, from within the United States.").
The cases Plaintiff cites to support its argument are irrelevant as the courts in those cases specifically found that the U.S.-based transactions were related to the conspiracy because the conspiracy was profit-motivated. See, e.g. , Nypl v. JPMorgan Chase & Co , No. 15 Civ. 9300,
Because Plaintiff has failed to establish that sales of CDOR-Based Derivatives in the United States constitute minimum contacts, the Court does not need to separately analyze whether the sale of CDOR-Based Derivatives in New York constitute minimum contacts for the RICO claim as New York is within the United States.
Having found that Plaintiff has not established adequate minimum contacts, the Court does not reach the question of whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction comports with fair play and substantial justice.
Plaintiff brings claims against Bank of America, Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. (which it refers to collectively as BOA). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 213-226. Of those Defendants, Merrill Lynch Canada is the only one who was a member of the CDOR Panel. Id. ¶ 225.
Plaintiff makes conclusory allegations that Defendants "regularly met in person at industry conferences," but the only specific examples it provides are from 2008 and 2009, and it does not allege that Bank of America, or any of its subsidiaries, attended these conferences. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 363-364.
A foreign exchange forward "is a derivative that provides for the purchase or sale of one currency (e.g., CAD) in terms of another (e.g., USD) on some future date (e.g., 90 days from now), at a price agreed upon today." Am. Compl. ¶ 289.
Plaintiff also compared CDOR to another benchmark, Adjusted CAD LIBOR, which the Court does not consider with respect to the antitrust injury because it was discontinued in 2013, see Am. Compl. § III.A, and Plaintiff is time barred from asserting an antitrust claim based on injuries that occurred prior to 2014.
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Moreover, the cases Plaintiff cites to support this argument are distinguishable. Plaintiffs in London Silver Fixing, Ltd., Antitrust Litig. , claimed that the defendants' manipulation of the silver market caused downward price movements to persist throughout the trading day. 213 F.Supp.3d at 544. Defendants argued that this claim of "persistence" failed because one of Plaintiffs' experts took the position that the downward swings may have been part of a short-term trading strategy. Id. at n.9 (emphasis added). The Court rejected this argument as raising a question of fact that could not be resolved at the pleading stage. Id. Here, rather than having contradictory evidence that demonstrates both that CDOR was suppressed and that it was not, the only evidence Plaintiff puts forth in support of its claims shows that it was not suppressed. Plaintiff also relies on Schwab for the proposition that the Court cannot rule out Plaintiff's allegation of injury at the pleading stage based on Defendants' contrary interpretation of economic evidence. Pl. Opp. at 18. However, after declining to "rule out either theory of loss causation," the Second Circuit in Schwab went on to state that the complaint must give "some indication of a plausible casual link between the loss and the alleged fraud." Schwab ,
Plaintiff arguably acknowledges this. See Pl. Opp. at 16 (Gelboim held "that antitrust injury was sufficiently alleged where plaintiff pleaded that it lost money on LIBOR-based instruments due to defendants' suppression of LIBOR.") (emphasis added).
Having found that Plaintiff lacks standing to bring its antitrust claim, the Court shall not address the rest of Defendants' arguments with respect to this claim.
As previously discussed, the statute of limitations was not tolled under the fraudulent concealment doctrine.
For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff's RICO claim against Bank of America and its subsidiaries are fully time barred.
The Amended Complaint does not state where Thomson Reuters is located, but Foreign Defendants' sworn affidavits support the statement that Thomson Reuters is located in Canada, see, e.g. , Taves Decl. ¶ 12, and Plaintiff does not contest this.
Having dismissed the RICO claim in its entirety, the Court does not reach the remainder of Defendants' arguments with respect to RICO.
As previously discussed, the statute of limitations was not tolled under the doctrine of fraudulent concealment.
Having determined that Plaintiff's CEA claims are time barred, the Court does not reach the remainder of Defendants' arguments.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FIRE & POLICE PENSION ASSOCIATION OF COLORADO, Individually and on Behalf of All Those Similarly Situated v. BANK OF MONTREAL, BMO Financial Corp., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, the Bank of Nova Sccotia, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC World Markets Corp., CIBC World Markets, Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, HSBC Bank PLC, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Bank Canada, National Bank of Canada, National Bank Financial Inc., National Bank of Canada Financial Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Dominion Securities Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD Securities Inc., TD Securities (USA) LLC
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published