US: Anticipated Petrobras trial put on hold

A U.S. appeals court put a class action case against Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA on hold pending the resolution of an appeal filed by the company, potentially stalling a much anticipated U.S. trial.

The order granted a bid by Petrobras to postpone a case brought by investors seeking to recoup billions of dollars in losses stemming from a bribery, contract-fixing and political kickback scandal in Brazil.

The company has appealed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan that certified two classes of plaintiffs, saying their claims are similar enough to be pursued as groups. Rakoff had set a trial for Sept. 19 but now the appeals court will have to rule on the class certification before that can go forward.

One class of shareholders that had been certified by Rakoff applied to purchasers of various Petrobras securities from January 2010 to July 2015 and was being led by Universities Superannuation Scheme of Liverpool, England. The other class that was certified bought debt securities from offerings in 2013 and 2014, and was led by North Carolina’s treasurer and the Employees’ Retirement System of Hawaii.

Full Content: Reuters

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