SLUSA CLASS ACTION BAR IS BROAD ENOUGH TO COVER EVEN SOME BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY CLAIMS
Posted on Aug 20, 2022 in Securities | Comments Off on SLUSA CLASS ACTION BAR IS BROAD ENOUGH TO COVER EVEN SOME BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY CLAIMS
In Cochran v. Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., 35 F.4th 1310 (11th Cir. May 31, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty as barred by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA). After Jeffrey Cochran’s 401(k) retirement plan was terminated by his employer, he transferred his funds into a rollover individual...
Court Rejects Challenges to SEC Subpoenas
Posted on Feb 8, 2021 in Securities | Comments Off on Court Rejects Challenges to SEC Subpoenas
The Eleventh Circuit rejected jurisdictional and relevance challenges to SEC subpoenas in SEC v. Marin, 982 F.3d 1341 (11th Cir. 2020). The SEC issued subpoenas to Carla Marin and MinTrade Technologies pursuant to a formal order of investigation (“FOI”) authorizing the Commission to investigate whether a Tampa-based limited liability company called Traders Café, and its “officers,...
Summary Judgment for Defendants Affirmed in Securities Fraud Case
Posted on Nov 18, 2020 in Securities | Comments Off on Summary Judgment for Defendants Affirmed in Securities Fraud Case
In Whitehead v. BBVA Compass Bank, 2020 WL 6536897 (11th Cir. Nov. 6, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendant bank and bank officer on the plaintiff’s claims for securities fraud. The plaintiff, an investor, claimed that the defendants wrongfully failed to inform him of the risks involved in acquiring a certain CD for his investment...
State Law Determines Whether Claim Brought Under Federal Statutory Law is Direct or Derivative
Posted on Jun 29, 2020 in Securities | Comments Off on State Law Determines Whether Claim Brought Under Federal Statutory Law is Direct or Derivative
Federal courts should look to state law to decide whether a claim brought under a federal statute is direct or derivative, according to the Eleventh Circuit. The court addressed this issue for the first time in Freedman v. magicJack Vocaltec Ltd., 2020 WL 3467396 (11th Cir. June 25, 2020), a class action filed by a shareholder, alleging that the defendant corporation, magicJack, made...
All That Glitters Isn’t Gold—Eleventh Circuit Affirms Injunction and Restitution Award Against Unregistered Traders in Metals Futures
Posted on Jan 24, 2018 in Securities | Comments Off on All That Glitters Isn’t Gold—Eleventh Circuit Affirms Injunction and Restitution Award Against Unregistered Traders in Metals Futures
In U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Southern Trust Metals, Inc., 2018 WL 493116 (11th Cir. Jan. 22, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed an injunction and (most of) a restitution award against two companies and their principal for unregistered trading in metals futures. Southern Trust told its customers that it would invest their money in precious metals, and could also...
A Private Plaintiff Cannot Sue FINRA for a Violation of Its Own Rules
Posted on Nov 3, 2017 in Jurisdiction, Securities | Comments Off on A Private Plaintiff Cannot Sue FINRA for a Violation of Its Own Rules
In Turbeville v. FINRA, 2017 WL 4938821 (11th Cir. Nov. 1, 2017), a panel of the Eleventh Circuit held that a former registered representative’s purported state-law claims against FINRA were properly dismissed because there exists no private right of action against FINRA, a self-regulatory organization (“SRO”), for alleged violations of its own rules. In 2009, FINRA filed an...