Price Manipulation
Conspiracy Alleged to Stop Retail Buys of Certain Securities Class Action
The complaint for this class action describes what it calls “a conspiracy to deprive individual investors … of their ability to invest in the open market in the midst of an unprecedent[ed] stock rise so that Defendants could shield themselves from incurring substantial losses as a result of their own high-risk short selling strategies.” The Read more
SK Energy, Vitol Anticompetitive Acts on California Gasoline Class Action
According to the complaint for this class action, a 2015 explosion at a Torrance, California refinery provided an opportunity for several companies to manipulate the gasoline market in that state, resulting in higher prices at the pump. The complaint names SK Energy Americas, Inc., SK Trading International Co., Ltd., and Vitol, Inc. as defendants. While Read more
SK Energy, Vitol Manipulation of Gas Prices California Class Action
According to the complaint for this class action, a gasoline refinery explosion in Torrance, California, and the market disruption it caused, provided an opportunity for collusion scheme and higher prices in the gasoline market. The complaint alleges that various types of anticompetitive behavior resulted in higher prices for regular and premium gasoline in California, causing Read more
Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Settlement
Two defendants are settling an antitrust case about contact lens pricing, while three others are continuing the litigation. CooperVision, Inc. (CVI) and Bausch & Lomb, Inc. (B&L) have reached settlement agreements in a case claiming that five companies agreed to Unilateral Pricing Policies that set minimum prices and allegedly violated antitrust laws. The litigation is Read more
Fed Cattle Market Price Reductions Antitrust Class Action
This antitrust class action brings suit against a number of beef packers for colluding to depress the prices of fed cattle. Because the packers earn their money from the “meat margin”—the spread between the price of fed cattle and the price at which the meat is sold—the companies allegedly decided to earn more by depressing Read more
Caustic Soda Makers Anticompetitive Actions Class Action
How do you raise prices for a substance in a market with low margins, declining prices, and an oversupply—like the one for caustic soda a few years ago? According to the complaint for this antitrust class action, some makers decided to take concerted, anticompetitive measures, from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the present. Read more
Major Securities Dealers Fixing of Spread for GSE Bonds Antitrust Class Action
At times, government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) issue bonds to fund what the complaint for this class action calls “economic and public policy mandates.” The complaint for this class action claims that dealers in these bonds conspired to fix their prices in a way that would earn the dealers more money, in violation of antitrust laws. Read more
Class Action Alleges Manipulation of VIX Derivatives Settlement Prices
This class action has no named defendants, just the designation “John Does”. The complaint alleges that someone is manipulating the final settlement prices of futures and options contracts linked to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX), an act the complaint claims is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Commodity Exchange Read more