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On January 21, 2009, Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York granted JPMorgan Chase Bank's Motions to Dismiss two complaints filed by the Butler Area School District and the School District of the City of Erie. Plaintiffs alleged claims for violation of Section 10(b) and Rule 10(b)(5) in connection with two derivative transactions they entered into with JPMorgan in 2003, as well as claims for common law fraud, fraud in the inducement, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and civil conspiracy. Plaintiffs claimed that they had been misled by JPMorgan in entering into interest rate "swaptions" related to municipal bonds because JPMorgan misrepresented the "fees and/or market spreads" that it would receive under the transaction and allegedly colluded with plaintiffs' financial advisor. Simpson Thacher moved to dismiss the complaints, arguing that the transactions at issue were not subject to federal securities laws, and that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege fraud. Judge Preska agreed with all of JPMorgan's arguments, including that the swaption transactions at issue were not "security-based swap agreements" under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act and therefore not subject to federal securities laws, and that plaintiffs failed to adequately plead the elements of 10b-5 or common law fraud. Joe Wayland argued the motion on behalf of JPMorgan. The Simpson litigation team includes Joe Wayland, Annette Rizzi, Janelle Filson, Peri Schultz and Ross Speier.