Federal Judge Finalizes State Street Bank's $300 Million Settlement on Behalf of Zuckerman Spaeder Clients

In a class action lawsuit against State Street Bank concerning its foreign exchange trading practices, a federal judge in Boston has given final approval to a settlement for a class represented by Zuckerman Spaeder LLP and other plaintiffs’ counsel. The $300 million settlement was first announced in July 2016. It was finally approved on Wednesday, November 2 by U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf.

The class was comprised of private and public pension plans and mutual funds that custodied their assets at State Street Bank. Zuckerman Spaeder, led by partner Carl S. Kravitz, was one of the plaintiffs’ counsel and represented the private, or Employee Retirement Income and Security Act (ERISA), plans within the class. The case alleged that the bank charged excessive fees or mark-ups in connection with the foreign currency transactions with its custodial clients (the class), and with respect to the ERISA plans in particular, violated its fiduciary duties, entered into prohibited transactions and committed other violations of ERISA.

“Following approximately five years of litigation and mediation, this is a tremendous and very satisfying outcome for our clients,” said Mr. Kravitz. “There were no objections made to this all cash settlement and no class members opted out, indicating their approval of the result. We provided real value to the class.”

The settlement also resolves related regulatory investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition to Mr. Kravitz, the plaintiffs were represented by Lawrence A. Sucharow of Labaton Sucharow LLP (Lead Counsel), Michael P. Thornton of Thornton Law Firm LLP, Daniel P. Chiplock and Robert Lieff of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, J. Brian McTigue of McTigue Law LLP, and Lynn Lincoln Sarko of Keller Rohrback LLP.