Schwab Nears Settlement in Antitrust Suit Over TD Ameritrade Deal
Parties in the lawsuit told a judge they've reached a "settlement in principle."
Brokerage customers who sought to unwind the Charles Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger on antitrust grounds have reached a “settlement in principle” with the financial services behemoth.
In a status update filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas last week, Schwab and plaintiffs in the case, Jonathan Corrente et al. v. The Charles Schwab Corp., told the judge that negotiators have signed a term sheet covering the proposed settlement.
They’ve been negotiating with assistance from a court-appointed mediator.
“While work remains to be done, including the drafting of a stipulation of settlement, and hiring a settlement administrator and devising a notice plan, the parties anticipate that Plaintiffs will be able to move for preliminary approval no later than November 21, 2024,” the status report says.
To bring the proposed settlement to court, the parties asked the judge to suspend the remaining pretrial schedule and allow them to provide a further joint status report on Oct. 21.
The retail online brokerage plaintiffs in the putative class action lawsuit contended the 2020 deal substantially lessened competition, harming clients. The judge last year allowed the case to proceed, dismissing Schwab’s motion to dismiss it.
Schwab completed post-deal account transitions this year.
Credit: Chris Nicholls/ALM