Commodities Manipulation

Lowey Dannenberg has unparalleled experience and success prosecuting the most important commodity manipulation class actions since the enactment of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Current Cases

Currently, Lowey Dannenberg partners Vincent Briganti and Geoffrey Horn are among the attorneys leading the prosecution of the following, ongoing class actions:

• In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodity Litigation, Case No. 07 Civ. 6377 (S.D.N.Y.), is a proposed class action involving the manipulation of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) natural gas futures and options contract prices in 2006 by Amaranth LLC, one of the country’s largest hedge funds, prior to its widely-publicized collapse in September 2006. The case is currently pending before the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin in the Southern District of New York.  Lowey Dannenberg serves as Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Class. 

        Significant victories achieved by Lowey Dannenberg in the Amaranth litigation include:

• On April 27, 2009, plaintiffs’ claims for primary violations and aiding-and-abetting violations of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act against Amaranth  LLC and other Amaranth defendants were sustained. In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodity Litig., 612 F. Supp. 2d 376 (S.D.N.Y. 2009).
• On April 30, 2010, Judge Scheindlin granted Plaintiffs’ motion for pre-judgment attachment in the amount of $72.4 million pursuant to Rule 64 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Section 6201 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules against Amaranth LLC, a Cayman Islands company and the "Master Fund" in the Amaranth master-feeder-fund hedge fund family. In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodity Litig., 711 F. Supp. 2d 301 (S.D.N.Y. 2010).
• On September 27, 2010, Judge Scheindlin granted Plaintiffs' motion for class certification. The 51-page, well-reasoned and precedent setting opinion represents a significant victory for Plaintiffs and the Class.  In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodity Litig.,, 269 F.R.D. 366 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). In appointing Lowey Dannenberg partners Vincent Briganti and Geoffrey Horn as co-lead counsel for Plaintiffs and the Class, Judge Scheindlin specifically noted "the impressive resume" of Lowey Dannenberg and that "plaintiffs' counsel has vigorously represented the interests of the class throughout this litigation."  On December 30, 2010, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Amaranth’s petition for appellate review of the class certification decision.

•  In re Rough Rice Commodity Litigation, Case No. 11 CV 00618 (N.D. Il.), is a proposed class action involving the manipulation of Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) rough rice futures and options contracts. Plaintiffs allege that, between at least October 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008, Defendants repeatedly injected unlawful trades and positions into the supply-demand equation for prices of rough rice futures and option contracts traded on the CBOT.  The case is currently pending before the Honorable John W. Darrah in the Northern District of Illinois.  Lowey Dannenberg serves as Court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the proposed class.

• In re Commodity Exchange, Inc., Silver Futures and Options Trading Class Action, Case No. 1:11-md-02213, is a proposed class action involving the manipulation of Commodity Exchange Inc. (“COMEX”) silver futures and options contracts. Plaintiffs allege that, between June 1, 2008 and the present, Defendants conspired to intentionally and unlawfully suppress and manipulate the price of COMEX silver futures and options contracts. The case is currently pending before the Honorable Robert P. Patterson, Jr. in the Southern District of New York.  Lowey Dannenberg serves as Court-appointed Counsel responsible for prosecuting the action.

• In re Optiver Commodities Litigation, Case No. 08 CV 6842 (S.D.N.Y.) is a proposed class action involving the alleged manipulation of NYMEX light sweet crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures contracts prices by Optiver US, LLC and other Optiver defendants.    The case is currently pending before the Honorable Loretta A. Preksa in the Southern District of New York.   Lowey Dannenberg serves as Court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs and the proposed class.

Past successes

Lowey Dannenberg partners Vincent Briganti and Geoffrey Horn served as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Natural Gas Commodity Litigation, Case No. 03 CV 6186 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.), which involved manipulation by more than 20 large energy companies of the price of natural gas futures contracts traded on the NYMEX. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants, including El Paso, Duke, Reliant, and AEP Energy Services, Inc., manipulated the price of natural gas by making false reports of the price and volume of their trades to publishers of natural gas price indices across the United States. Lowey Dannenberg won significant victories throughout litigation including:

•       defeating defendants’ motions to dismiss;

•       prevailing on a motion to enforce subpoenas issued by two publishers of natural gas price indices for the production of trade report data; and

•       successfully certifying a class of NYMEX natural gas futures traders who were harmed by defendants’ manipulation of the price of natural gas futures contracts traded on the NYMEX from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2002.

The total settlement obtained in this complex litigation—almost $101 million—ranks as one of the largest class-action recoveries in the history of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Lowey Dannenberg also previously served as one of the three members of the Plaintiff's Executive Committee in In re Sumitomo Copper Litigation, an action alleging manipulation of COMEX copper futures and options prices.  The court there specifically found, "Executive Committee counsel appointed by the Court have conducted previous antitrust, securities and commodity futures class actions in this circuit and have vigorously investigated, developed and prosecuted the claims in this litigation." Id.   Lowey Dannenberg as a member of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee achieved a settlement for Plaintiffs and the Class of $145,000,000, the largest recovery ever in a commodities manipulation case.  182 F.R.D. 85, 95 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).

Lowey Dannenberg partners Vincent Briganti and Geoffrey Horn served as counsel to Richard Hershey, a class representative in Hershey v. Pacific Investment Management Corp., a certified class action alleging manipulation by PIMCO of the multi-billion dollar market of U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note futures contracts traded on the CBOT.  The case settled in 2011 for $118,750,000.

	Vincent Briganti is a partner with the firm. He co-heads the firm's commodity litigation practice group. Mr. Briganti represents investors, investment advisors and commodities traders in legal actions involving compliance with commodities, securities, antitrust, and investment regulations. Read more >>
	Geoffrey Horn is a partner with the firm. He represents major health insurers, HMOs, employers, and health and pharmacy benefits plans in litigation to recover costs from manufacturers and providers who overcharge for prescription drugs, medical devices or services. In addition, he represents institutions and individuals in a range of securities, commodities and antitrust litigation. Read more >>

Cases

• In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodity  Litigation, 612 F. Supp.2d 376 (S.D.N.Y. 2009).
• In re Rough Rice Commodity Litigation, Case No. 11 CV 00618 (N.D. Il.).
• In re Commodity Exchange, Inc., Silver Futures and Options Trading Class Action, Case No. 1:11-md-02213 (RPP) (S.D.N.Y).
• In re Optiver Commodities Litigation, Case No. 08 CV 6842 (LAP) (S.D.N.Y.).
• In re Natural Gas Commodity Litigation, Case No. 03 CV 6186 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.).
• In re Sumitomo Copper Litigation, 182 F.R.D. 85, 95 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).
• Pacific Inv. Management Co. LLC v. Hershey, 130 S. Ct. 1504, 176 L.Ed.2d 151 (2010).

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