Tuesday, June 7, 2011

2nd Circuit Affirms $400 Million FINRA Arbitration Award

Professor Jill Gross at the ADR Prof Blog provides the details - the Second Circuit affirmed a denial of a vacatur motion in the context of a $400 million FINRA arbitration award. In STMicroelectronics, N.V. v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA), LLC, Docket No. 10-3847-cv (2d Cir. June 2, 2011), Credit Suisse moved to vacate an award against it arising out of its sale of auction-rate securities (“ARS”) to STMicroelectronics (“ST”), a semiconductor manufacturer. Credit Suisse sold ARS to ST, and, when the ARS market froze in August 2007, more than $400 million of ARS owned by ST failed at auction, rendering them illiquid and significantly lower in value.

Second Circuit Affirms $400 Million FINRA Arbitration Award