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COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, AND GUARANTEES |
COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, AND GUARANTEES | 21. COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES Legal Proceedings As of March 31, 2021, the Company was subject to the various legal proceedings and claims discussed below, as well as certain other legal proceedings and claims that have not been fully resolved and that have arisen in the ordinary course of business. The Company reviews its legal proceedings and claims, regulatory reviews and inspections and other legal proceedings on an ongoing basis and follows appropriate accounting guidance when making accrual and disclosure decisions. The Company establishes accruals for those contingencies where the incurrence of a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated, and the Company discloses the amount accrued and the amount of a reasonably possible loss in excess of the amount accrued, if such disclosure is necessary for the condensed consolidated financial statements to not be misleading. The Company does not record liabilities when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is probable, but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated, or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote. The Company’s assessment of whether a loss is remote, reasonably possible, or probable is based on its assessment of the ultimate outcome of the matter following all appeals. As of March 31, 2021, the Company does not believe that there is a reasonable possibility that any material loss exceeding the amounts already recognized for these legal proceedings and claims, regulatory reviews, inspections or other legal proceedings, if any, has been incurred. While the consequences of certain unresolved proceedings are not presently determinable, the outcome of any proceeding is inherently uncertain and an adverse outcome from certain matters could have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company in any given reporting period. City of Providence On April 18, 2014, the City of Providence, Rhode Island filed a securities class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Bats and Direct Edge Holdings LLC, as well as 14 other securities exchanges. The action purports to be brought on behalf of all public investors who purchased and/or sold shares of stock in the United States since April 18, 2009 on a registered public stock exchange (“Exchange Defendants”) or a U.S.-based alternate trading venue and were injured as a result of the alleged misconduct detailed in the complaint, which includes allegations that the Exchange Defendants committed fraud through a variety of business practices associated with, among other things, what is commonly referred to as high frequency trading. On May 2, 2014 and May 20, 2014, American European Insurance Company and Harel Insurance Co., Ltd. each filed substantially similar class action lawsuits against the Exchange Defendants which were ultimately consolidated with the City of Providence, Rhode Island securities class action lawsuit. On June 18, 2015, the Southern District of New York (the “Lower Court”) held oral argument on the pending Motion to Dismiss and thereafter, on August 26, 2015, the Lower Court issued an Opinion and Order granting Exchange Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, dismissing the complaint in full. Plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal of the dismissal on September 24, 2015 and its appeal brief on January 7, 2016. Respondent's brief was filed on April 7, 2016 and oral argument was held on August 24, 2016. Following oral argument, the Court of Appeals issued an order requesting that the SEC submit an amicus brief on whether the Lower Court had jurisdiction and whether the Exchange Defendants have immunity in the claims alleged. The SEC filed its amicus brief with the Court of Appeals on November 28, 2016 and Plaintiff and the Exchange Defendants filed their respective supplemental response briefs on December 12, 2016. On December 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals reversed the Lower Court’s dismissal and remanded the case back to the Lower Court. On March 13, 2018, the Court of Appeals denied the Exchange Defendants’ motion for re-hearing. The Exchange Defendants filed their opening brief for their motion to dismiss May 18, 2018, Plaintiffs’ response was filed June 15, 2018 and the Exchange Defendants’ reply was filed June 29, 2018. On May 28, 2019, the Lower Court issued an opinion and order denying the Exchange Defendants’ motion to dismiss. On June 17, 2019, the Exchange Defendants filed a motion seeking interlocutory appeal of the May 28, 2019 dismissal order, which was denied July 16, 2019. Exchange Defendants filed their answers on July 25, 2019. The discovery period in the matter commenced and is scheduled to continue through at least the first half of 2021. Given the preliminary nature of the proceedings, the Company is unable to estimate what, if any, liability may result from this litigation. However, the Company believes that the claims are without merit and intends to litigate the matter vigorously. VIX Litigation On March 20, 2018, a putative class action complaint captioned Tomasulo v. Cboe Exchange, Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-02025 was filed in federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois alleging that the Company intentionally designed its products, operated its platforms, and formulated the method for calculating VIX and the Special Opening Quotation, (i.e., the special VIX value designed by the Company and calculated on the settlement date of VIX derivatives prior to the opening of trading), in a manner that could be collusively manipulated by a group of entities named as John Doe defendants. A number of similar putative class actions, some of which do not name the Company as a party, were filed in federal court in Illinois and New York on behalf of investors in certain volatility-related products. On June 14, 2018, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized the putative class actions in the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois. On September 28, 2018, plaintiffs filed a master, consolidated complaint that is a putative class action alleging various claims against the Company and John Doe defendants in the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois. The claims asserted against the Company consist of a Securities Exchange Act fraud claim, three Commodity Exchange Act claims and a state law negligence claim. Plaintiffs request a judgment awarding class damages in an unspecified amount, as well as punitive or exemplary damages in an unspecified amount, prejudgment interest, costs including attorneys’ and experts’ fees and expenses and such other relief as the court may deem just and proper. On November 19, 2018, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the master consolidated complaint and the plaintiffs filed their response on January 7, 2019. The Company filed its reply on January 28, 2019. On May 29, 2019, the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the Company’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ entire complaint against the Company. The state law negligence claim was dismissed with prejudice and the other claims were dismissed without prejudice with leave to file an amended complaint, which plaintiffs filed on July 19, 2019. On August 28, 2019, the Company filed its second motion to dismiss the amended consolidated complaint and plaintiffs filed their response on October 8, 2019. On January 27, 2020, the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the Company’s second motion to dismiss and all counts against the Company were dismissed with prejudice. On April 21, 2020, the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois granted plaintiffs’ motion to certify the January 27, 2020 dismissal order for an immediate appeal. On May 19, 2020, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“7th Circuit”), seeking to appeal the April 21, 2020 order granting the entry of partial final judgment and both orders granting the Company’s motions to dismiss entered on May 29, 2019 and January 27, 2020. On June 29, 2020, plaintiffs filed their opening brief with the 7th Circuit, on August 28, 2020 the Company filed its opposition brief with the 7th Circuit, on September 7, 2020, CME Group Inc., Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and National Futures Association filed an amici curiae brief in support of the Company on the Bad Faith Standard with the 7th Circuit and on October 16, 2020, plaintiffs filed their reply brief with the 7th Circuit. Oral arguments were held remotely on November 30, 2020 and the parties are currently awaiting a decision by the 7th Circuit. The Company currently believes that the claims are without merit and intends to litigate the matter vigorously. The Company is unable to estimate what, if any, liability may result from this litigation. ​ Other As self-regulatory organizations under the jurisdiction of the SEC, Cboe Options, C2, BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA are subject to routine reviews and inspections by the SEC. As a designated contract market under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, CFE is subject to routine rule enforcement reviews and examinations by the CFTC. Cboe SEF, LLC is a swap execution facility registered with the CFTC and subject to routine rule enforcement reviews and examinations by the CFTC. Cboe Trading and BIDS Trading are subject to reviews and inspections by FINRA. The Company has from time to time received inquiries and investigative requests from the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations and the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight as well as the SEC Division of Enforcement and CFTC Division of Enforcement seeking information about the Company’s compliance with its obligations as a self-regulatory organization under the federal securities laws and Commodity Exchange Act as well as members’ compliance with the federal securities laws and Commodity Exchange Act. In addition, while Cboe Europe, Cboe Chi-X Europe, EuroCCP, Cboe NL, and MATCHNow have not been the subject of any material litigation or regulatory investigation in the past, there is always the possibility of such action in the future. As Cboe Europe and Cboe Chi-X Europe are domiciled in the UK, it is likely that any action would be taken in the UK courts in relation to litigation or by the FCA in relation to any regulatory enforcement action. As EuroCCP is domiciled in the Netherlands, it is likely that any action would be taken in the Dutch courts in relation to litigation or by the DNB or Dutch Authority for Financial Markets in relation to any regulatory enforcement action. For Cboe NL, also domiciled in the Netherlands, it is likely that any actions would be taken in the Dutch courts in relation to litigation or Dutch Authority for Financial Markets in relation to any regulatory enforcement action. As MATCHNow is domiciled in Canada, it is likely that any action would be taken in the Canadian courts in relation to litigation or by the IIROC or Ontario Securities Commission in relation to any regulatory enforcement action. The Company is also currently a party to various other legal proceedings in addition to those already mentioned. Management does not believe that the likely outcome of any of these other reviews, inspections, investigations or other legal proceedings is expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources. See also Note 6 (“Credit Losses”) for information on promissory notes related to the CAT. See also Note 19 (“Income Taxes”). Contractual Obligations See Note 12 (“Clearing Operations”) for information on EuroCCP’s clearinghouse exposure guarantee. See Note 22 (“Leases”) for information on lease obligations.

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