Four Bank Defendants Dismissed From S.D.N.Y. ForEx Lawsuit

LAW 360 (subscription required) reports that four bank defendants–UBS Group AG, SocGen, RBS PLC, and MUFG Bank, Ltd.–have been dismissed from a pending foreign exchange bid-rigging action in the S.D.N.Y. District Judge Lorna Schofield dismissed UBS Group AG because the complaint did not allege that it had participated in the alleged manipulation activity, and that the plaintiffs had conflated it with other UBS entities. SocGen, RBS, and MUFG Bank were all dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, on the grounds that none of their conduct was directed at New York such that they could “reasonably anticipate being haled into court” in New York. The action, Contant v. Bank of America, remains pending against other defendants, including Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and UBS AG.