SDNY Rules That HSW Client Matthew Connolly’s $150M Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank Can Proceed

November 27, 2023

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has denied Deutsche Bank’s motion to dismiss Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler client Matthew Connolly’s $150M malicious prosecution lawsuit.

Deutsche Bank claimed that Mr. Connolly failed to meet a heightened pleading standard allegedly relevant to his claims. In his written opinion, Judge Jesse Furman held that Deutsche Bank’s arguments had “no merit.”

"Put simply, Deutsche Bank's arguments are premised on factual disputes that cannot be resolved at this state of the litigation," Judge Furman wrote. "That is, assuming the truth of Connolly's allegations and drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor, as the court must, he alleges a plausible claim of malicious prosecution against Deutsche Bank."

Mr. Connolly is alleging his former employer wrongfully scapegoated him to protect the interests of senior officials during a high-profile U.S. Department of Justice investigation into LIBOR market manipulation practices. He was originally indicted in the SDNY and later acquitted of all charges by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The firm filed Mr. Connolly’s lawsuit in November 2022. The HSW team representing Mr. Connolly includes partners David Wechsler, Jonathan Harris, and Julie Withers;  and Counsel Daniel Grossman.