Robert Dumas is a staff attorney at Cohen Milstein and a member of the Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice, although he frequently assists the Antitrust practice. He is engaged in document discovery and review and in preparing attorneys for witness depositions. Since joining the firm in 2014, Robert has worked on some of the most important mortgage-backed securities (MBS) litigations to emerge from the financial crisis.
Prior to joining the firm, Robert practiced at a leading plaintiffs firm, litigating securities fraud matters, and then later at a smaller plaintiff firm, where he helped litigate the In re IPO Securities Litigation in which investors accused the leading investment banks of rigging IPOs during the 1990s tech bubble. After nearly a decade of legal wrangling, a $586 million settlement was reached. Earlier, he practiced at a leading intellectual property and trademark law firm where he defended trademark matters for an international clothing manufacturer.
During law school, Robert served as an editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy.
- New York
- Cornell Law School, J.D., 1996
- State University of New York at Albany, B.A., 1992
Current Cases
Bayer Securities Litigation
Bayer Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein is Lead Counsel in this certified securities class action, in which Plaintiffs allege that in connection with its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer misrepresented the rigor of its due diligence and the nature of the legal risk presented by Monsanto’s flagship product, the herbicide Roundup. Bayer investors incurred significant losses after bellwether jury trials in toxic tort cases repeatedly found in favor of the plaintiffs against Monsanto, including finding that Roundup was a “substantial factor” in causing the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and leading to jury awards totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
In re Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litigation
In re Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein serves as Co-Lead Counsel and represents the Public School Teachers’ Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago and other proposed buy-side investor class members in this ground breaking putative antitrust class action against numerous Wall Street investment banks. Plaintiffs allege that the defendants conspired to prevent class members from trading IRS on modern electronic trading platforms and from trading with each other, all to protect the banks’ trading profits from inflated bid/ask spreads.
Set Capital, et al. v. Credit Suisse Group AG, et al.
Set Capital, et al. v. Credit Suisse Grp. AG, et al. (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein is Co-Lead Counsel in this path-breaking securities class action alleging fraud and market manipulation of XIV Exchange Traded Notes. On March 17, 2023, the court certified one of three proposed investor classes.
Stock Loan Antitrust Litigation
Iowa Public Employees Retirement System et al. v. Bank of America Corp. (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein is co-counsel in this groundbreaking putative class action, in which investors accuse Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, UBS, J.P. Morgan, and other Wall Street banks of conspiring to thwart the modernization of and preserve their dominance over the $1.7 trillion stock loan market. On September 1, 2023, the court granted preliminary approval of a historic settlement of $499 million in cash along with injunctive relief against defendants Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, UBS, JP Morgan, and EquiLend, bringing total settlements to $580 million thus far. Litigation against Bank of America continues.
Past Cases
New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v. DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., et al.
HEMT MBS Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): $110 million settlement with Credit Suisse. Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a case alleging Credit Suisse and its affiliates sold toxic securities to pension fund investors. The suit, filed in 2008, was one of the first class action cases involving mortgage-backed securities to be filed.
Novastar MBS Litigation
NovaStar MBS Litigation: Cohen Milstein is lead counsel in litigation alleging that RBS, Wells Fargo (formerly Wachovia) and Deutsche Bank sold toxic mortgage-backed securities to investors. The litigation is one of the last outstanding class action MBS lawsuits. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier dismissal of the lawsuit, paving the way for prosecution of the case. In March 2019, the Court granted final approval of a $165 million all-cash settlement.
July 1, 2022
Stock-Loan Case Against Goldman, Other Banks Takes Step Toward Class Certification
Pension funds allege “group boycott” of startup platforms in stock loan market Manhattan federal judge in 2018 declined to dismiss case Credit Suisse in February first to settle, for $81 million A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday recommended the certification of a class of investors who have alleged Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & […]
In the News | Reuters
February 11, 2022
“Credit Suisse Investors Ink $25M ‘Icebreaker’ Rate Swaps Deal”
Institutional investors leading sprawling multidistrict litigation against nearly a dozen megabanks that allegedly colluded to control the interest rate swaps market told a New York federal judge Friday they’ve reached a $25 million “icebreaker” settlement with Credit Suisse. Along with the $25 million cash award, the proposed settlement calls for Credit Suisse Group AG to […]
In the News | Law360
February 11, 2022
Credit Suisse to Pay $81M to Exit Stock Loan Antitrust Suit
Credit Suisse has agreed to pay investors $81 million to be the first bank to exit a putative New York federal court class action accusing banks of colluding to kill competition in the stock loan market, the investors said in a bid for preliminary approval of the so-called icebreaker deal Friday. As a part of […]
In the News | Law360