District Judge Katherine Forrest ruled in a Manhattan court that the LME is an organ of a foreign state and was not engaging in commercial activity when it allegedly manipulated the load-out rules for aluminium.
The basis for the immunity ruling, made in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).
“The court grants the LME’s motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity,” the ruling said. “The court itself initially found this result somewhat surprising and counter-intuitive. Nevertheless, it is dictated by the prevailing case law,” the ruling added.
Judge Forrest denied leave to re-plead the lawsuit brought by aluminium consumers against the LME, as well as Glencore, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and each of their warehouse subsidiaries.
HKEx awaits ruling
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx), the owner of the LME, is also a...
