Case Updates |
10/01/2026
Related Case: Merrill Lynch Cash Sweep Programs Consumer Litigation
On October 1, 2026, United States District Judge Margaret M. Garnett issued an Opinion and Order granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss a class action prosecuted by Wolf Popper LLP challenging the interest rates paid by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill”) on customers’ cash swept into deposit accounts at Merrill-affiliated banks.
The decision allows Plaintiffs’ core claims against Merrill to proceed. The Court held that Plaintiffs adequately alleged that Merrill breached its contractual obligations to pay rates of interest that were reasonable and set based on economic and business conditions. Among other things, the Court found that “[t]he strikingly low interest rates paid under the Sweep Programs, as opposed to the rates in the numerous comparators that Plaintiffs identified” sufficiently established a pleading-stage breach. The Court also denied Merrill’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing claims, finding that they had alleged with “sufficient specificity” that customers “reasonably expected reasonable rates of interest to be paid on swept funds and that those rates of interest would be determined based on economic and business conditions.” The Court also sustained Plaintiffs’ consumer protection claims under NY General Business Law Section 349, finding that Plaintiffs’ complaint sufficiently alleged false and deceptive practices, including that Merrill attempted “to remove the ‘reasonable’ language from numerous agreements to Plaintiffs’ detriment.”
The litigation, which will now continue through discovery, seeks relief on behalf of Merrill customers whose cash was swept into Merrill’s Retirement Asset Savings Program (“RASP”), the Merrill Lynch Bank Deposit Program (“MLBDP”), or the Merrill Lynch Direct Deposit Program (“MLDDP”).
The case is In re Merrill Lynch Cash Sweep Programs Litigation, Case No. 1:23-cv-10768-MMG-BCM (S.D.N.Y.), pending before United States District Judge Margaret M. Garnett. Wolf Popper serves as co-lead interim counsel on behalf of the putative class.
Wolf Popper LLP is a nationally recognized law firm in the fields of securities litigation, consumer fraud, ERISA, antitrust, health care litigation, and corporate transactional/derivative litigation.