A federal judge dismissed three class-action lawsuits alleging
stock exchanges gave high-frequency traders an unfair advantage,
according to court documents.
The suits were inspired by allegations made in author Michael
Lewis' book "Flash Boys," which last year argued the stock market
was rigged in favor of exchanges, big banks and high-frequency
traders.
Harold Lanier, an individual investor and plaintiff in a case
that included three proposed class actions, alleged that exchanges
created an unfair marketplace by giving some trading firms and
banks a faster data feed for stock market prices than the data feed
used by other market participants.
On Tuesday, Judge Katherine Forest of the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York dismissed the claims, ruling
that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved of the way the
exchanges distributed data.
The suit was filed against all of the U.S. stock exchanges,
including those operated by BATS Global Markets Inc., Nasdaq OMX
Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
Another lawsuit against high-frequency traders filed by the city
of Providence, Rhode Island, and other investors is ongoing. It,
too, was inspired by "Flash Boys," documents show.
Write to Bradley Hope at bradley.hope@wsj.com
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