Labaton Sucharow LLP serves on the Executive Committee in this lawsuit filed on behalf of a proposed class of Plaintiffs that purchased municipal derivatives directly from Defendants, thirty-seven leading banks, insurance companies, and brokers.

Plaintiffs allege that, between January 1, 1992 and the present, Defendants engaged in a widespread price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy in the multi-billion dollar municipal derivatives industry. The case is pending before the Honorable Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit follows an unprecedented investigation by the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission and various State Attorneys General into industry-wide collusive practices in the municipal bond industry. The Antitrust Division has convened a grand jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. One Defendant, Bank of America, has already applied for acceptance into the Antitrust Division’s amnesty program. In connection with this program, Bank of America has agreed to provide information regarding the conspiracy and to provide full and complete cooperation.

Plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint on June 18, 2009.