Solow v. Citigroup, Inc.

827 F. Supp. 2d 280, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135078, 2011 WL 5869599
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 22, 2011
DocketNo. 10 Civ. 2927 (RWS)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 827 F. Supp. 2d 280 (Solow v. Citigroup, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Solow v. Citigroup, Inc., 827 F. Supp. 2d 280, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135078, 2011 WL 5869599 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Defendants Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) and Vikram Pandit (“Pandit,” and, with Citigroup, the “Defendants”) have moved pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and 9(b) to dismiss the First Amended Complaint of plaintiff Sheldon H. Solow (“Solow” or the “Plaintiff’) alleging violation of the securities law and common law fraud. Based upon the conclusions set forth below, the motion is granted and judgment will be entered dismissing the complaint.

Prior Proceedings

On April 5, 2010, the Plaintiff1 filed his initial complaint, naming Citigroup as the sole defendant. The action was referred to the Honorable Sidney H. Stein as related to In re Citigroup Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 07 Civ. 9901(SHS). Judge Stein declined the action as unrelated, and it was assigned as designated above. On June 29, 2010, Citigroup filed motions both to stay all proceedings pending resolution of a motion to dismiss in the case pending before Judge Stein and to dismiss Plaintiffs complaint. The parties stipulated to a briefing schedule concerning Citigroup’s motion to stay, with Citigroup’s motion to dismiss to be subsequently addressed. While the motion to stay was pending, Judge Stein ruled on the pending motion to dismiss, thereby mooting Citigroup’s request.

Following Judge Stem’s decision in In re Citigroup Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 07 Civ. 9901, Solow and Citigroup agreed to provide So-low until January 7, 2011 to decide whether to proceed with his existing complaint or file an amended complaint. The parties subsequently stipulated to extend the deadlines until late February. On February 23, Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint (the “FAC”). In addition to Citigroup, the FAC named Citigroup’s CEO, Pandit, as a defendant.

The FAC alleges three counts: (1) a claim against both Defendants for violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, alleging that the Defendants fraudulently caused the market price for [284]*284Citigroup shares to increase; (2) a claim under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against Pandit for control person liability; and (3) a claim against both Defendants for common law fraud. These causes of action were based on the following allegations set forth in the FAC.

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, prompting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the price of Citigroup shares to drop precipitously. On that same day, in an alleged effort to boost investor confidence, Citigroup CEO Pandit issued a memorandum to Citigroup employees, which was reprinted in The Wall Street Journal. The memorandum allegedly urged employees to “remind our clients and shareholders” that Citigroup’s “capital ratio” was “well in excess of the ‘well-capitalized’ regulatory minimums” and that Citigroup’s “cash position is very strong.” FAC ¶ 14. The memorandum also stated that “Citigroup continues to boast a strong deposit base that is diversified across products and regions.” Id The FAC alleges that these representations concerning Citigroup’s financial position were false. Id ¶ 16.

In addition to describing the September 15 memorandum, the FAC details various other alleged misrepresentations concerning Citigroup’s purportedly strong capital and liquidity position made throughout the fall of 2008, including:

• “Citi maintains an unmatched, globally dominant franchise with strong liquidity, total deposits exceeding $800 billion and a Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.7% as of the second quarter.” Id ¶ 24 (Oct. 3, 2008).
• Citigroup “maintained its ‘well-capitalized’ position.” “Our liquidity position also remained very strong during the third quarter of 2008 and will continue to be enhanced ...” “[T]he enhancement of our liquidity position [has] allowed us to continue to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet all debt obligations maturing within a one-year period without having to access unsecured capital markets.” Id ¶ 38 (Oct. 31, 2008).
• Pandit stated that Citigroup’s “capital is plentiful” and the bank has an “abundance of liquidity.” Id ¶ 40 (Nov. 14, 2008).
• Pandit reassured his employees that “the bank’s capital base is strong.” Id ¶ 42 (Nov. 18,2008).
• “Citi has a very strong capital and liquidity position....” Id ¶47 (Nov. 20, 2008).

The FAC also describes how, in late September 2008, Citigroup announced a purported “rescue” of Wachovia (the “Wachovia Transaction”), intending to give the appearance that it was saving a weaker institution, but the rescue was never consummated. Id ¶ 22. It is alleged that Citigroup attempted to use the Wachovia Transaction to convince its investors that it was a strong and stable financial institution and made the following representations:

• “Citi agreed to the government’s request to assist with a rescue of Wachovia.... This was a deal Citi wanted rather than one we needed.... Had an agreement between Citi and Wachovia not been reached on September 29, [2008] Wachovia would have failed the following day.” FAC ¶ 21.
• “We saved Wachovia from collapsing.” Id
• “We did not seek the Wachovia transaction. Wachovia brought it to us.” Id
• “With or without this transaction, Citi maintains an unmatched, globally dominant franchise with strong liquidity, total deposits exceeding $800 billion [285]*285and a Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.7% as of the second quarter.” Id. ¶ 24.

The FAC also quotes individuals involved in the Wachovia Transaction, alleging that, after Wachovia decided to be acquired by Wells Fargo, not Citigroup, FDIC Chairman Bair refused to renegotiate the Wachovia Transaction at Pandit’s request, because the Wachovia Transaction would have been the “selling [of] a troubled institution ... with a troubled mortgage portfolio to another troubled institution.” FAC ¶ 26. Chairman Bair further stated that she believed that if the Wachovia Transaction had been consummated “Citigroup would have to have been bailed out again.” Id. Edward Kelly (“Kelly”), Citigroup’s Vice Chairman, allegedly expressed this same sentiment: “Having agreed to do the deal was a recognition on our part that we needed it ... [a]nd if we needed it and didn’t get it, what did that imply for the strength of the firm going forward?” Id. ¶ 27.

It is alleged that at the same time that Citigroup was representing that it had capital and liquidity strength and misrepresenting the nature of the Wachovia Transaction, it was secretly borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars from the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (“PDCF”), a lending facility authorized by the Federal Reserve designed to help banks in distress. FAC ¶ 30-32. The FAC states that, according to the Federal Reserve, the PDCF was the “lender of last resort” that served as a “back-up source of liquidity for institutions that are unable to access short-term funding in the market, whether for operational or other reasons.” Id. ¶30 (quoting Declaration of Susan E. McLaughlin, Senior Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
827 F. Supp. 2d 280, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135078, 2011 WL 5869599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/solow-v-citigroup-inc-nysd-2011.