Frequently Asked Questions

What is this case about?
Who are the plaintiffs?
Why was this lawsuit brought in New York?
How can I tell if I have a case?
On what basis are the lawyers handling the case?

What is this case about?.
Basically, this case is about whether Scotiabank wrongfully deprived the former shareholders of Grupo Financiero Inverlat, which owned Banco Inverlat, of their ownership interest in the Grupo and Banco by manipulating and concealing the true performance of the bank in the years that followed various agreements reached among the former shareholders, Scotiabank, and the Mexican government in 1996. In particular, the plaintiffs have alleged that after obtaining control of the Grupo and Banco pursuant to the various agreements, Scotiabank wrongfully concealed the amount of bad loans that were collected between 1996 and the summer of 2000, and that as a consequence the former shareholders only received the minimum 9% that had been guaranteed to them as opposed to some or all of the additional 36% that had been earmarked for them pursuant to their agreement with the government.

Who are the plaintiffs?
The plaintiffs are a group of Mexican nationals, and some U.S. nationals, who invested in Grupo Financiero Inverlat and then saw most or all of that investment disappear. Currently there are more than 100 plaintiffs who have joined in the lawsuit.

Scotiabank Inverlat is a Mexican bank, and the Bank of Nova Scotia is Canadian. So why was this lawsuit brought in New York?
In an early agreement between some of the shareholders of Grupo Financiero Inverlat and the Bank of Nova Scotia, the parties agreed that any dispute between the two would be litigated in New York.

How can I tell if I have a case?
If you owned stock in Grupo Financiero Inverlat as of July 1996, and were later declared eligible to receive, and actually received, your share of the guaranteed 9%, you may — and we must emphasize the “may” — have a cause of action against the Bank of Nova Scotia. To determine if you have a case, one of our lawyers would need to review your information. You can reach us for such a review through the “Contact Us” link on this page. The review will be done at no charge, and having your information reviewed does not obligate you to join the lawsuit, nor does it obligate the lawyers to represent you.

On what basis are the lawyers handling the case?
The lawyers in this case are handling it on what is known as a contingency fee basis. That means they are paid if, and only if, they win the lawsuit or negotiate a settlement that is approved by the plaintiffs. If the plaintiffs do not win the lawsuit or agree to a settlement, then they do not owe the lawyers anything. If the plaintiffs do win the lawsuit or obtain a settlement, then the lawyers receive a percentage of any recovery. The lawyers have also agreed to advance the expenses of the lawsuit, and will be reimbursed for those expenses only if they obtain a recovery for the former shareholders in the case.