LegalPass launches Credit US: the first Swiss class action for Credit Suisse shareholders
Lausanne, 15 June 2023 – LegalPass, a Swiss legal start-up that makes access to the law affordable for everyone, is announcing today the launch of the first class action for Credit Suisse shareholders.
The Swiss Mergers Act (Art. 105 LFus) provides for a legal action for a “verification of the exchange ratio” that allows shareholders to claim “adequate compensation” for their shares.
Thanks to the specific procedural features of this action, LegalPass is able to organize a “form of class action” to group together the claims of Credit Suisse shareholders who are faced with identical collective damages. This action is called Credit US and is accessible to all shareholders via the www.legalpass.ch platform.
Shareholders can take part in this action by paying a few cents per share, at a rate that is degressive, based on volume. The minimum contribution is CHF 120.-. The aim is to allow shareholders to obtain cash compensation corresponding to the difference in value between the share price determined in the merger contract and the price determined by the court. A tool available at www.legalpass.ch can be used to determine how much it will cost to take part in the action.
On 19 March 2023, UBS announced that it was taking over Credit Suisse for CHF 3 billion, a pittance for the country’s second-largest bank. Although in difficulty, the bank was still worth CHF 7 billion at the close of stock market trading 48 hours earlier. Sold off at below its market price, shareholders had no say in the matter.
In a report dated 23 May 2023 to the SEC (the US financial markets supervisory authority), UBS itself valued Credit Suisse as still being intrinsically worth almost USD 38 billion. The law offers the option of having the price verified by a court, but only a few very wealthy shareholders can afford to set up such a costly procedure.
Centralizing the legal action and reducing legal fees
As part of its mission to make access to legal services affordable for everyone, LegalPass has decided to devote a substantial portion of its activity to setting up Credit US - the first class action against the merger exchange ratio – thereby enabling smaller Credit Suisse shareholders to join together in a class legal action and defend their rights at an affordable price. The proceedings are being handled by experienced lawyers, including Andreas Hauenstein of the Zurich law firm Baumgartner Mächler, who is in charge of preparing and bringing the legal action before a competent court in Zurich.
Deadline for participation
The Mergers Act (Art. 105 para. 1 LFus) provides for a period of two months from the publication of the merger decision, which was ratified on 12 June 2023 and published in the Swiss Official Commercial Gazette (FOSC) on 14 June 2023. It is therefore possible to participate from today until 20 July 2023.
In the event that funds are not raised within the allotted time-limit, LegalPass will abandon the action and reimburse the participants, subject to a maximum deduction of 8% of the amount invested for external costs incurred for the action.
Further information on the Credit US process is provided in a detailed FAQ.
Available on www.legalpass.ch
Additional information
Philippe Grivat
LegalPass SA
Co-founder – Attorney-at-law
philippe.grivat@legalpass.ch
Alexandre Osti
LegalPass SA
Co-founder – Attorney-at-law
alexandre.osti@legalpass.ch
About LegalPass SA
Established in 2022 by two attorneys-at-law, Philippe Grivat and Alexandre Osti, LegalPass is a Swiss start-up whose mission is to make the law affordable for everyone. LegalPass usually focuses on the areas of law that particularly affect the general public.
For the time being, it deals in particular with debt collection and road-traffic law, but its aim in the future is to cover all the most common areas of law.
With its virtual assistant, LegalPass assists SMEs and private individuals with solving their legal problems by helping them to create their legal documents or find a suitable lawyer at a reduced fee. With the Credit US legal action, LegalPass intends to make the law affordable by enabling thousands of small Credit Suisse shareholders to collectively make their voice heard at an affordable cost.