8/12/2014 Quinn Emanuel, Berger & Montague To Helm Gold Fix Cases - Law360

https://www.law360.com/articles/560261/print?section=classaction 1/2
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Quinn Emanuel, Berger & Montague To Helm
Gold Fix Cases
By Vin Gurrieri
Law360, New York (July 23, 2014, 6:49 PM ET) -- Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and
Berger & Montague PC were appointed as co-lead counsel for investors pursuing antitrust
claims against Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Bank PLC and others for allegedly plotting to
manipulate gold prices, a New York federal judge said Monday.
U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni appointed the Quinn-Berger team as interim class
counsel for a single putative class of investors covering at least 27 lawsuits, saying the firms
will best be able to apportion the massive amount of attorney resources necessary to
challenge the conduct of five major banking institutions over a 10-year period.
The court concludes that the team of Quinn Emanuel and Berger & Montague would best
serve the interests of the class, Judge Caproni said.
The investors in April urged the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to
centralize the cases in Manhattan with Judge Caproni as the presiding judge, citing the
court's prior work in similar financial suits. The JPML has yet to issue a decision on the
investors' request.
In their petition to the MDL panel, proposed plaintiffs Kevin Maher and Eric Nalven said that
the class actions assert nearly identical claims against the defendants for abusing their
positions as members of The London Gold Market Fixing Ltd. to manipulate the London
benchmark gold price in the $20 trillion market for the metal.
Additionally, nearly all the cases under consideration were filed in the Southern District of
New York, making that court the most logical home for the MDL, they said.
Judge Caproni said she was persuaded by the Quinn-Berger team's more creative approach in
tying its requested attorneys fees to the size of any common fund, saying the proposed
structure more effectively aligns counsels incentives with those of the putative class.
Further, the judge cited geographical reasons for her decision, saying that since most of
Quinn Emanuel's attorneys on the case are based in New York and Berger & Montague's
attorneys are based in Philadelphia, a proposed MDL centralized in New York will run more
efficiently with attorneys based near the city.
Lastly, the judge said that Quinn Emanuel's London presence a qualification that no other
applicable firm possessed pushed its application over the edge since at least some
discovery in the case will take place in London and the firm's presence there will trim costs
for the proposed class.
Dan Brockett, one of Quinn Emanuel's attorneys on the case, told Law360 on Wednesday
8/12/2014 Quinn Emanuel, Berger & Montague To Helm Gold Fix Cases - Law360
https://www.law360.com/articles/560261/print?section=classaction 2/2
that the firm is pleased to be appointed to what is an important case.
People have been saying for decades that gold prices have been manipulated for various
reasons, Brockett said. The market will be happy to know that a well-respected and well-
financed law firm will handle the case.
Brockett added that Berger & Montague is a top plaintiffs firm with a great antitrust
department and that the two will work well together to represent the plaintiffs' interests.
Maher was the first to file his proposed class action in March, naming Deutsche Bank,
Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Holdings PLC and Societe Generale SA as defendants in
violation of the Commodity Exchange Act and the Sherman Act.
According to Maher's complaint, the five banks conspired to manipulate the London gold fix
which dates to 1919 and is used as a benchmark to determine the prices of gold and gold
derivatives.
In the ensuing weeks, other investors followed Maher's lead and filed complaints of their
own, all of which allege the same general scheme, according to court documents.
In choosing the Quinn-Berger team, Judge Caproni denied applications by Lovell Stewart
Halebian Jacobson LLP and Hausfeld LLP; Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Susman
Godfrey LLP; Bernstein Liebhard LLP; and Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP to serve
as lead or co-lead counsel to the investors.
Cafferty Clobes' application had sought a joint appointment with either or both Lovell
Stewart and Hausfeld, according to court documents.
Although the Quinn-Berger team had the winning application, Judge Caproni did admonish
them for exceeding page limitations and cautioned them to submit all future materials in
accordance with the court's orders.
Representatives for Berger & Montague were not immediately available for comment
Wednesday.
The plaintiffs are represented by Daniel L. Brockett, Daniel P. Cunningham and Steig D. Olson
of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP; and Merrill G. Davidoff, Michael C. DellAngelo and
Zachary D. Caplan of Berger & Montague PC.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.
The lead district court case is In re: Gold Fixing Antitrust and Commodities Exchange Act
Litigation, case number 1:14-cv-01642, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York.
The MDL is In re: Gold Fixing Antitrust and Commodities Litigation, before the Judicial Panel
on Multidistrict Litigation. The case number was not immediately available.
--Additional reporting by Alex Lawson and Jeff Sistrunk. Editing by Edrienne Su.
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