The Court of Appeals of Texas has held that in a shareholder agreement regarding the purchase of company stock, the federal and state Securities Acts anti-waiver provisions did not bar the enforcement of an international forum selection clause. The parties had consented to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts in Ontario,…
In what one investment banking official is calling a “second wave” of securities litigation stemming from the credit and subprime crisis of 2008, financial firms are now suing other financial institutions for damages. While speaking on a Practising Law Institute panel, Morgan Stanley managing director D. Scott Tucker noted that…
Three individuals, Judith Welling, Robert Mick, and Charles Mederrick, have filed a purported securities class action against the Securities and Exchange Commission over financial losses related to investments they made in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. In their amended complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking damages sustained because of the…
The Securities and Commission has agreed to propose an antifraud rule that deals with the issue of security-based swaps-related fraud, manipulation, and deception. The proposed Rule 9j-1 would bar fraud and manipulation in the offer, sale, and purchase of the swaps. Unlike regular securities transactions, securities-based swaps involve ongoing payments…
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled that a married couple and their investment vehicles are not Wachovia “customers” and, therefore, they are not entitled to bring their stock loan related claims against Wachovia Securities Financial Network LLC and financial adviser George Gordon III to…
Federal officials say that Jean “Richard” Charbit has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with a South Florida stock scam involving the microcap market that was under investigation by an undercover FBI sting. Charbit is facing a maximum 5 years in prison. He…
In a default judgment, The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington is mandating that investment adviser Enrique Villalba and affiliated entities pay investors over $20 million. The 47-year-old has been sentenced to almost 9 years in prison for defrauding clients of over $30 million. Most of the…
“On May 6, 1010, the New York Stock Exchange was intentionally shut down for 90 seconds by those in charge,” recounts Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Founder and Securities Fraud Lawyer William Shepherd. “When this happened there was no market (bid and ask quotes) for many large cap stocks, except…
Four ex- San Diego officials will pay $80,000 in fines to resolve municipal bond charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading investors. Never before has the SEC obtained financial penalties against a city’s officials for municipal securities fraud. By agreeing to settle, ex-San Diego City Manager…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comments on whether amendments should be made to federal securities laws so that private litigants can file transnational securities fraud lawsuits. Comments are welcomed until February 18, 2011. The SEC says to refer to File No. 4-617. In its request, the SEC points…