In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation

What the document is

The provided text contains a notice scheduling a telephone pre-motion conference and a letter from Forex Plaintiffs opposing Credit Suisse’s proposed motion. It does not contain a ruling deciding the motion.

Background

Credit Suisse sought an order allowing it to produce the “Class Database” in the separate Allianz action. According to the plaintiffs’ letter, Credit Suisse sought to obtain the database through Rule 34 discovery requests that the Allianz plaintiffs had served on Credit Suisse. The plaintiffs said the database had been developed for the Forex settlement claims process and for prosecuting claims against Credit Suisse in the Forex litigation.

The plaintiffs said the database had been disclosed to Credit Suisse as part of expert backup materials and designated “Highly Confidential” under the Forex confidentiality order. They argued that the order allowed the database to be used only for prosecuting or defending the Forex action, not for another case.

Plaintiffs’ arguments

The plaintiffs argued that there was no live discovery dispute because the Allianz plaintiffs were not seeking production of the database through the cited requests. They also argued that Credit Suisse lacked standing under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 because it was not the party that served the discovery requests. In their view, only the party that served disputed discovery may move to compel responses.

The plaintiffs further argued that Credit Suisse should have served the Forex Plaintiffs or class counsel, who were nonparties in Allianz, with a subpoena under Rule 45. They said using Rule 37 instead denied them protections available to nonparties, including protections against undue burden.

The plaintiffs also characterized the requested database as class counsel’s work product and the experts’ analysis, rather than simply raw party data. They argued that allowing Credit Suisse to use it in Allianz would give Credit Suisse the benefit of work performed and paid for in connection with the Forex litigation. They disputed Credit Suisse’s assertion that producing the database would create efficiencies.

Court action and disposition

Judge Lorna G. Schofield’s notice set a pre-motion conference for October 7, 2020, at 10:40 a.m., by telephone. The provided text does not state that the court ruled on, granted, denied, or otherwise disposed of Credit Suisse’s motion. Because the text does not show a judicial ruling, no merits or procedural outcome can be identified from it.