Attorneys for investors who sued Goldman Sachs over excessive planned bonuses following the financial crisis, but dropped their suit when Goldman trimmed the bonuses on its own, cannot collect fees from the investment bank, a unanimous state appeals panel ruled Tuesday.
The Appellate Division, First Department panel ruled in Central Laborers Pension Fund v. Blankfein, 600036/10, that the plaintiffs' counsel, including Grant & Eisenhofer, were not entitled to fees because the plaintiffs failed to make a pre-suit demand on Goldman's board of directors, or show that such a demand would have been futile. The plaintiffs therefore lacked standing to bring the suit in the first place, the panel said.
