SEC Contends That Securities Exchanges Have Immunity Only When Acting As Regulators

The SEC submitted an amicus curiae brief in a case involving allegations that the national securities exchanges engaged in market manipulation by providing certain customers engaged in "high-frequency trading" with certain types of proprietary services.

The amicus curiae brief, submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the "Court") in City of Providence v. BATS Global Markets, Inc. (the "Action") addressed two legal issues: (i) whether the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the "S.D.N.Y."), had subject-matter jurisdiction over the original Action, and (ii) whether the defendants, including the NYSE, NASDAQ and BATS, have absolute immunity from suits arising from the challenged conduct.