On June 16, 2020, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued an order granting final approval of all five settlements in In re GSE Bonds Antitrust Litigation, 19-cv-01794 (S.D.N.Y.), resolving Plaintiffs’ claims against all Defendants. Lowey, led by Vincent Briganti, served as Co-Lead Counsel to the Class and counsel to lead plaintiff Pennsylvania Treasury, the exclusive custodian of over $100 billion in state monies.
The settlements recovered a total of $386.5 million for the Class. On top of this substantial payment, the Defendants have also agreed to maintain antitrust compliance measures designed to detect and prevent misconduct in the GSE Bond market, including rigorous employee and management training, strong oversight, adoption of a company-wide culture of compliance, and periodic risk assessments. The Defendants will meet periodically with a representative of Pennsylvania Treasury to confirm their continued maintenance of an appropriate antitrust compliance program.
In his order, Judge Rakoff noted the “high quality” of Co-Lead Counsel’s work throughout the “fast pace[d]” litigation. He also praised Pennsylvania Treasury’s “excellent performance in monitoring and contributing to the successful conclusion of this litigation.”
A copy of Judge Rakoff’s order can be found here