The information contained on this web page is only a summary of information presented in more detail in the Notice of Pendency of Class Actions, Proposed Class Settlement, Settlement Hearing, Plan of Allocation, and any Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Litigation Expenses, and Service Awards (the “Notice”), which you can access by clicking here.  Since this website is just a summary, you should review the Notice for additional information.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, your legal rights will be affected by the Settlement whether you act or do not act.

Please read the Notice carefully

THE SETTLEMENT CLASS CONSISTS OF All custody and trust customers of SSBT (including customers for which SSBT served as directed trustee, ERISA Plans, and Group Trusts), reflected in SSBT’s records as having a United States tax address at any time during the period from January 2, 1998 through December 31, 2009, inclusive, (“CLASS PERIOD”) and that executed one or more Indirect FX Transactions with SSBT and/or its subcustodians during the period from January 2, 1998 through December 31, 2009, inclusive.  CERTAIN PERSONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE SETTLEMENT CLASS BY DEFINITION.

The Court’s Final Approval Hearing

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing at 2:00 p.m. on November 2, 2016, before the Hon. Mark L. Wolf, at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, Courtroom 10, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.

At the hearing, the Hon. Mark L. Wolf approved the Class Settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate. The Court also approved the motions for attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, Service Awards for Plaintiffs, and the proposed Plan of Allocation.

Additional Proceedings After November 2, 2016

After the final approval hearing was held, and the settlement and request for attorneys’ fees and expenses were approved, Lead Counsel notified the court of certain inadvertent errors in the motion for fees and expenses previously submitted to the court. On March 8, 2017, the court appointed a special master to review the original fee and expense application and to issue a report and recommendation. The special master's report and recommendation was issued on June 28, 2018. On February 27, 2020, the court issued a decision that modified the special master's report and recommendation. All filings with the court concerning these additional proceedings are available using the “Court Documents” link on the left.

What is this case about?

The Class Actions were commenced in 2011 and 2012 by the filing of three class action complaints. In the Class Actions, Plaintiffs allege, among other things, that Defendants charged custody and trust customers of SSBT excessive rates and spreads in connection with Indirect FX Transactions between January 2, 1998 and December 31, 2009. Plaintiffs allege that by employing this unfair and deceptive practice, Defendants earned higher spreads on Indirect FX Transactions than they should have. Further, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants failed to disclose this pricing. Plaintiffs assert that this alleged unfair and deceptive practice and nondisclosure thereof constituted violations of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 93A, §§ 2, 9 and 11 (“Chapter 93A”), breach of an alleged fiduciary duty, and negligent misrepresentation, and, with respect to the ERISA Funds, violations of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1106, for engaging in self-interested prohibited transactions and by causing the plans to engage in party in interest prohibited transactions, violations of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1104, for breaching duties of prudence and loyalty, and pursuant to ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1105, liability for breaches of co-fiduciary obligations.

Defendants have denied Plaintiffs’ allegations.

The Class Settlement is the product of protracted, arm’s-length negotiations between Plaintiffs’ Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel, facilitated by a nationally recognized mediator with substantial experience mediating complex litigations of this type. Between October 2012 and June 2015, the Parties engaged in sixteen (16) in-person mediation sessions in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. In addition, the Parties met without the mediator and had numerous arm’s-length discussions among themselves.

Pursuant to agreements concerning the exchange of formal document discovery, informal material to facilitate the mediation process, and managing the Class Actions, the Parties exchanged more than nine million pages of relevant documents. SSBT also provided a significant amount of data and other information relevant to liability, class certification and damages issues, and Plaintiffs and SSBT each made multiple, detailed presentations (including a presentation by an accounting expert) during the mediation process concerning such issues.

On June 30, 2015, Plaintiffs and SSBT reached an agreement-in-principle to settle the Class Actions, which was memorialized in a term sheet on September 11, 2015, and the Settlement Agreement, dated July 26, 2016.

The Settlement Benefits

In exchange for the Class Settlement and the release of the Released Class Claims against the Released Defendant Parties, SSBT agreed to create a $300,000,000 cash fund. The $300,000,000, plus any interest that accrues on this amount, will be distributed to the Settlement Class after costs, expenses and fees are deducted, as described  in the Notice. The Class Settlement provides for cash payments to Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, as explained in the Plan of Allocation in Question 8 in the Notice.

The description of the Class Settlement in the Notice is only a summary. The complete terms are set forth in the Settlement Agreement (including its exhibits), which may also be obtained under the “Court Documents” link on the left , or Lead Counsel’s website, www.labaton.com.

Further Information:

This website and the Notice summarize the proposed Class Settlement.  Full details of the Class Settlement are set forth in the Settlement Agreement. Copies of the Settlement Agreement, as well as other litigation and settlement-related documents, may also be viewed under the “Court Documents” link on the left. You may also contact the Claims Administrator or Lead Counsel for further information regarding this Settlement:

Claims Administrator:

www.StateStreetIndirectFXClassSettlement.com

Lead Counsel:

www.labaton.com

If you have questions, you may call the State Street Indirect FX Trading Class Action Help Line at 877-240-3540 or email info@StateStreetIndirectFXClassSettlement.com