The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected without comment PIMCO's appeal of a lower court ruling granting class-action status to a lawsuit claiming the money manager illegally manipulated the futures market for some 10-year Treasury notes.
Traders who filed the lawsuit claimed they lost more than $600 million in 2005 because PIMCO artificially raised the price of the notes.
The Supreme Court rejected PIMCO's appeal of a decision last July that affirmed the granting of class-action status in the case. That decision was made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago.
“PIMCO's attempt to derail this suit at the outset is ill-timed, ill-conceived and must fail,” Appellate Court Judge Richard Posner wrote in that court's decision.
Granting class-action status in a lawsuit can create a huge potential liability for a defendant, increasing the pressure on the defendant to settle.
Mark Porterfield, PIMCO spokesman, said the money manager had no comment.
