J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ("JPMorgan") is a financial holding company, which provides various financial services worldwide.

According to the press release dated December 27, 2010, the lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan, the custodian of silver backing SLV securities and the sub-custodian of silver backing SIVR securities, and HSBC, the custodian of silver backing the SIVR securities, manipulated and suppressed the price of silver bar financial products, including SLV and SIVR, in violation of Section 9 of the Securities Exchange Act.

The case is also brought on behalf of investors who purchased or sold CME Group Inc’s “COMEX” silver futures or options contracts which are traded electronically through the Chicago-based “GLOBEX” platform and through COMEX. On behalf of these investors, the lawsuit alleges violations of the anti-manipulation provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act.

On February 17, 2011, the case was transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, case number 11-cv-01097. The case is part of Multidistrict Litigation titled In re: Commodity Exchange, Inc., Silver Futures And Options Trading Litigation, case number 11-MD-02213.

According to Case Management Order No. 2 entered on March 2, 2011, the Court appointed the firm Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson LLP, by Christopher Lovell, as interim Plaintiffs' lead Counsel. The Court appoints the following to the interim Plaintiffs steering committee, as set forth in this Order. The members of the interim Plaintiffs steering committee shall consult with interim Plaintiffs' lead Counsel to plan and coordinate the Plaintiffs' pretrial activities and prepare for trial. Plaintiffs have sixty (60) days from the date of this Order to file the Consolidated Class Action Complaint (CCAC) in this matter.

According to the CCAC filed on September 12, 2011, the action contains claims in violation of the Commodities Exchange Act and the Sherman Act. The action no longer contains securities class action violations.