GATA: Blanchard & Co.'s Gold Price-Fixing Lawsuit Against Barrick and Morgan Chase Can Proceed
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2003--Blanchard & Co.'s anti-trust lawsuit against Barrick Gold and J.P. Morgan Chase alleging that they conspired to control the price of gold can proceed to trial, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled in a decision released Monday. The judge, Helen G. Berrigan, denied a "summary judgment" motion by Barrick and Morgan Chase to dismiss the lawsuit. She found that Blanchard, the New Orleans-based coin and bullion dealer, had proven its standing to sue and the appropriateness of its claims under the Sherman Act.
The judge pointedly rejected Barrick's claim to be immune from suit as the agent of central banks in the implementation of their policy on gold.
Welcoming Judge Berrigan's decision, Blanchard CEO Don Doyle thanked the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee and its consultant, Reginald H. Howe, for their work in bringing the first federal lawsuit alleging manipulation of the gold price. That lawsuit was dismissed on technical grounds in U.S. District Court in Boston in March 2002. Doyle said Blanchard had learned much from the Howe case and used it to build its own case.
Barrick and Morgan Chase have 10 days to apply to Judge Berrigan for permission to appeal her decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. If her dismissal of the Barrick/Morgan Chase "summary judgment" motion stands, the Blanchard lawsuit would proceed with Blanchard empowered to compel Barrick and Morgan Chase to produce evidence and testimony prior to trial.
"Blanchard's success in court is a victory for gold producers and investors, the free market, and a more honest international financial system," GATA Chairman Bill Murphy said. "The Blanchard case now promises embarrassing disclosures about secret collusion between Barrick, Wall Street, and central banks to control the price of gold. GATA congratulates and is deeply grateful to Blanchard & Co." Murphy continued: "For five years GATA has painstakingly developed the evidence of the surreptitious suppression of the gold price. We've done a good job but we haven't had the power to compel the perpetrators to disclose their records and answer questions under oath. Now Blanchard & Co. will have that power in pursuit of the truth about the gold market. The results may be explosive - and liberating not only to mining companies and gold investors but also to the developing countries that have been devastated for so long by the gold price suppression scheme. Justice is coming."
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