Barclays Bids To Halt High-Frequency Trading Class Action In Its Tracks

A high-profile class action against Barclays over so-called high-frequency trading is heading into a key phase this month, with the court set to decide plaintiffs' motion for class certification—a pivotal moment in the case's trajectory.

Strougo v. Barclays Plc, 14-cv-05797 (S.D.N.Y.) began in July 2014, when a Barclays purchaser of Barclays American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") filed a putative class action against the bank for violating the federal securities laws, alleging the bank made false or misleading statements about its operation of so-called dark pools that artificially inflated the ADSs' price. Dark pools are alternative trading venues where institutions trade massive quantities of securities anonymously, without revealing the quantity or price to the general public until the trade is complete. Dark pools tend to be fresh feeding grounds for high-frequency traders ("HFTs"), who utilize complex computer algorithms to move in and out of securities