A lawsuit has been filed and is seeking class action status against the New York Stock Exchange for securities fraud. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons who placed market orders to purchase or sell securities on the New York Stock Exchange through the New York Stock Exchange's Super Designated Order Turnaround System between October 17, 1998 and June 19, 2007.
Several dozen companies were named in the suit and alleged claims for violation of federal antitrust laws and breach of fiduciary duty. The suit claims the defendants violated federal securities laws by employing manipulative or deceptive devices or contrivances with regard to the market for trade execution services on the New York Stock Exchange and the costs of those executions. The case alleges the defendants exploited their control over order execution and publication of the data relating to order execution to create, maintain and conceal the existence of two distinct submarkets on the New York Stock Exchange.
