Reuters: Regulatory News: Glencore, JPM sued in U.S. as warehousing legal battle ramps up

Reuters: Regulatory News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Glencore, JPM sued in U.S. as warehousing legal battle ramps up Aug 7th 2013, 03:15 Tue Aug 6, 2013 11:15pm EDT * Second lawsuit in a week against industry players * Lawsuit filed by small aluminium user in Florida, individual plaintiff By Melanie Burton SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Glencore Xstrata and JPMorgan Chase & Co face a U.S. lawsuit, along with the London Metal Exchange, alleging they artificially inflated aluminium prices, in the second legal challenge related to metal warehousing in a week. The suit, which also names Goldman Sachs and subsidiaries of both Goldman and JP Morgan, accuses the firms of engaging in anti-trust and racketeering practices. The latest case, filed by Florida-based aluminium user Master Screens and an individual plaintiff, expands the geography and number of companies being sued in the unfolding legal battle over warehousing. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan dismissed the suit. "We believe this suit is without merit and we intend to vigorously contest it. We also note that aluminium prices are down 40 percent from their peak in 2006," a Goldman Sachs spokesman said. "There are no queues at our warehouses. We believe this suit has no merit," a JPMorgan spokesman said. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, owner of the LME, declined to comment. Glencore could not immediately be reached for comment. U.S. regulators are scrutinizing ownership of commodity storage facilities by major U.S. banks. Last week, Goldman and the LME were named as defendants in a separate Detroit lawsuit. The Florida lawsuit alleges "manipulation of the aluminium market through supply price fixing," among other practices. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, which is seeking class action status and was filed on Aug. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, is Master Screens Inc. and Daniel Price Bart, described in the filing as "a purchaser of beverages sold in aluminium cans." Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions