Market News & Headlines >> Floor Traders Drop Suit Against CME

A group of floor traders have agreed to drop a lawsuit against CME Group Inc. over the exchange operator’s decision to include electronic transactions in the daily settlement process for grain and soy futures prices.

The traders, who work on the Chicago Board of Trade's 140-year-old agricultural futures trading floor, will "abandon all their claims" against the world's largest futures exchange operator without receiving any payment, according to a statement.

The group sued CME Group, owner of the CBOT, in June 2012, claiming the decision to factor in electronic trades would put them out of business and was implemented without proper approval from exchange members. Prior to the change, the CBOT had settled grain and soy futures prices based on transactions executed in open-outcry pits.

An Illinois judge in March rejected a request from the traders to suspend the implementation of the rule, ruling CME Group had the authority to implement the rules change without polling certain stakeholders.