A move by Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. to halt a class-action lawsuit charging manipulation of futures markets was rejected Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.
More than 1,000 investors are asking for $600 million in damages through the suit, claiming that Pimco bond fund managers cornered the market on long-term Treasuries contracts five years ago.
The suit alleged that Pimco more than tripled its stakes in benchmark 10-year Treasury notes during a two-week stretch.
The moves pressured bond prices higher, according to the lawsuit.
The suit charges Pimco, a unit of Germany’s Allianz SE, with making at least $1 billion off the move.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case essentially supported an earlier ruling by a U.S. appeals court in Chicago last year to allow the suit to proceed.
Some analysts are predicting that Pimco, which now manages more than $1 trillion in bonds and other investments, could now be under pressure to settle with investors.
A company spokesman declined any comment on the matter.
