From today's Financial Post:

Bank of Nova Scotia, along with a handful of international banks embroiled in a lawsuit in the United States over alleged manipulation of a key benchmark based on the gold price, is facing a fresh lawsuit filed in Canada.

Lawyers at Sotos LLP, Koskie Minsky LLP and Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman are seeking class action status for the lawsuit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In a statement Tuesday, the law firms said they are seeking up to $ 1 billion in damages or compensation on behalf of Canadian investors who bought “a gold market instrument either directly or indirectly” between Jan. 1, 2004, and March 19, 2014.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants, including Bank of Nova Scotia, “conspired to manipulate prices in the gold market under the guise of the benchmark fixing process, known as the London PM Fixing, for a ten- year period,” the law firms said in the statement.