(Reuters) UBS agreed in principleto settle a lawsuit by whistleblower Trevor Murray, a former bond strategist who said the Swiss bank fired him in retaliation for refusing to publish misleading research reports, ending a long-running case that went to theU.S. Supreme Court.
The parties resolved their differences through mediation, andexpect within 30 days to sign a final settlement resolving the more than 13-year-old dispute, according to a joint letterfiled on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. U.S. District Judge KatherinePolk Failla ordered the case’s dismissal on Thursday.
Robert Herbst, a lawyer for Murray, declined to comment. UBS and its lawyers did not immediately respond torequests for comment.
Murray claimed that members of UBS’ commercial mortgage-backed securitiesdesk pressured him to “skew” his research to support the bank’s trading positions and product offerings.
He worked mainly in Manhattan before being fired in February 2012, and sued six months later.
UBS has said it fired Murray in the course of eliminating thousands of jobs, following a $2.3 billion loss ata London tradingdesk, not because of his whistleblowing.
In February 2024, the Supreme Court reinstated a more than $2.6 million award for Murray, including a $903,300 jury verdict for back pay, saying afederal law protecting financial whistleblowers didn’t require them to prove their firings were motivated by retaliatory intent.
One year later, the federal appeals court in Manhattan set aside the award, citing defective jury instructions. The Supreme Court declined to hear Murray’s subsequent appeal.