CCX Sued For Fraud

By Steven M. Siros

On December 14, 2011, a group of investors that purchased trading privileges on the Chicago Climate Exchange ("CCX") sued the CCX and its founders, alleging fraud and violations of Illinois' Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The lawsuit, which was filed in Illinois state court, contends that defendants falsely represented that only a limited number of trading privileges would be sold and once these privileges were sold, the privileges would be freely transferable. The CCX was acquired by Intercontinental Exchange ("ICE") in April 2010. In August 2011, ICE announced that due to low trading volume on the CCX (attributable to the failure to pass federal cap and trade legislation), the exchange would operate through first quarter 2012 and then shut down. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs allege that they would not have purchased trading privileges on the CCX had they been aware that the privileges would ultimately not be marketable. To see a copy of the complaint, please click here.