=DJ Archipelago/Charges -2: Trader Plans To Appeal Suit
By Ann Keeton
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--A judge in circuit court of Cook County Tuesday
dismissed charges filed against electronic communications network
Archipelago Holdings LLC by derivatives trader Fane Lozman.
The judge said she couldn't find evidence to show that work Lozman had done
when he had a business partnership with Archipelago co-founder and Chief
Executive Gerald Putnam allowed Lozman to claim any interest in the ECN,
which was formed several years later.
Lozman told Dow Jones Newswires he plans to appeal the suit against
Archipelago.
Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird dismissed additional charges Lozman filed
against Putnam and Stuart Townsend and MarrGwen Townsend, all officers of
Archipelago, but granted "leave to amend," giving Lozman a chance to refile
those charges within 28 days.
Philip Nathanson, Lozman's attorney, said "it's kind of interesting" that
the judge allowed charges against those individuals, but not Archipelago as
a corporate entity, to be refiled.
Kevin O'Hara, corporate counsel at Archipelago, said the judge's "dismissal
with prejudice" of charges against Archipelago, was unusual, because judges
generally allow charges to be refiled to make a stronger case. Nathanson
agreed that the dismissal was unusual.
O'Hara said Archipelago now has investments of "more than $100 million"
from backers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), J.P. Morgan & Co.
(JPM), American Century Cos.(X.ACC), E*Trade Group Inc. (EGRP), Instinet, a
division of Reuters Group PLC (RTRSY), CNBC television and Merrill Lynch &
Co. (MER). He said the exact amount of investment hasn't been made public.
Concerning possible plans for an initial public offering of Archipelago,
O'Hara said "it's still in the discussion stages."
-Ann Keeton; Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4120
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-16-99
06:00 PM |
