Platinum Partners v. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc.

Milberg represented an investment management group in a case against the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. (“CBOE”) and Options Clearing Corp. (“OCC”). The plaintiff investment management group alleged that it was injured when the CBOE and OCC privately disclosed strike price information to certain insiders prior to the information being made public. In the interim between the private disclosure and the public announcements, the plaintiff purchased tens of thousands of affected options. The lower court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the CBOE and OCC, as self-regulatory organizations, were immune from suit. However, the Appellate Court reversed, holding that a private disclosure to insiders served no regulatory purpose and should not be protected from suit. The Illinois Supreme Court declined the defendants’ petition for leave to appeal