Court Refuses to Dismiss Claims Against NYSE’s Thain

A New York state trial judge has denied a motion to dismiss fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims against the New York Stock Exchange’s CEO, John Thain, the New York Law Journal reported this morning. The claims against Thain arise out of the Big Board’s merger with Archipelago Holdings in 2005, and its related transformation from a not for profit entity to a for profit, public corporation. The only claim remaining against the exchange itself asserts that it is vicariously liable for Thain’s purported misconduct. Coincidentally, the judge, Charles Ramos, is the same judge who presided over the State of New York’s lawsuit against former NYSE chief Richard Grasso.