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The origin of re Short Sales Antitrust Litigation (2d Cir. 2009). A putative anti-trust class action suit filed against eleven major financial institutions involving short sales of securities. Class action members accused defendant brokers of aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment by charging inflated fees in connection with the purported borrowing of class securities intended for short sales. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of New York dismissed this clas action as it holds that defendants' transactions necessarily entailed the exchange of information regarding the availability and price of securities, since such exchanges were “implicitly permitted” by the SEC, allowing the case to continue would deter defendants from engaging in conduct deemed lawful under SEC regulations. Since securities laws “implicitly precluded” application of anti-trust laws to the alleged conduct of defendants, the court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss.