Federal Court Ruling Exposes Investment Banks On IPO Allocations

A Federal judge has thrown out a plea by Salomon Smith Barney, Goldman Sachs Group and over fifty other investment banks to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that they rigged hundreds of IPOs, according to Reuters. Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York denied the majority of the motions to dismiss filed by 55 banks who underwrote the initial public offerings, and the 309 companies that issued them. Legal experts say that the decision, which comes five months after the motions were filed, has removed a major obstacle to lawsuits in which investors will seek damages from investment banks which could run into billions of dollars. The view is that the banks will prefer to settle out of court to contain the costs of litigation.