The Second Circuit ruled in Overton v. Todman & Co., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4239 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2007), that an auditor may be primarily liable for securities fraud for failing to correct a certified financial statement that it later determines to have been false. This from a Court that has frequently exonerated auditors from primary liability unless they have a ...

The No Child Left Behind Act does not create a private right of action, at least not for an entity that provides tutoring and other supplemental educational services. ‛There is no language in the statutory provisions … that demonstrates Congress’s intent to ‘unambiguously confer[]’ on the plaintiff an ‘individual entitlement.’“ Alliance for Childre ...

Below is a brief summary of precedential Court of Appeals decisions issued in the past 30 days in the field of private securities litigation: • Loss Causation. Ray v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., No. 05-4362, --- F.3d ---, 2007 WL 1080426 (7th Cir. Apr. 17, 2007). The suit was brought by retail investors against an investment advisor and his employer f ...

The False Claims Act (‛FCA“) authorizes civil actions to be brought by the United States Attorney General or private individuals for false or fraudulent claims for payment made to the United States Government. With respect to suits by private individuals (known as ‛qui tam relators“), the FCA contains the following express limitation: "No court shall ...

On Monday, a New Jersey appellate court ruled that a former client was not estopped from pursuing legal malpractice claims against an attorney for his alleged mishandling of the former client's action against two nursing homes, even though the client had voluntarily settled with the nursing homes before the underlying issues were litigated to a conclusion. See Pros ...

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the SEC is considering a new policy that would allow companies -- through a bylaw amendment -- to require that shareholder lawsuits be brought by arbitration, rather than litigation. The article, which notes that the matter is in the discussion stages, appears on the WSJ website, http://www.wsj.com. Doug Pepe

Download associated file: Supreme Court.pdf  As discussed in prior blogs, the Supreme Court is currently considering the proper standard for pleading a "strong inference" of scienter under the PSLRA in Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights LTD., No. 06-484. The q ...

Download associated file: Final Rule 502 from Evid Committee.pdf  The meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence Rules has ended, and the final Committee version of Rule 502 is attached (it goes to the Standing Committee in June). Most notable: S ...

Download associated file: Final Selective Waiver Statutory Language.pdf  Also from the just-concluded Evidence Rules Committee meeting: Attached is the final language drafted by the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding selective waiver. As noted ...

Download associated file: SDNY and EDNY proposed rule changes effective May 2007.pdf  The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York have proposed changes to their Local Civil Rules. The proposed changes, whic ...