Justia U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

In 2015, the SEC initiated enforcement proceedings in the District of Arizona against appellant for illegitimate investment activities. In 2017, appellant entered into a consent agreement with the SEC, and the United States District Court for the District of Arizona ultimately held appellant liable for disgorgement in the amount of $4,494,900. Then the grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned an indictment charging appellant with, inter alia, securities fraud and unlawful sale of securities, based in part on the same conduct underlying the SEC proceeding. Appellant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, which the district court denied.The Fourth Circuit joined with every other circuit to have decided the issue in holding that disgorgement in an SEC proceeding is not a criminal penalty pursuant to the Double Jeopardy Clause, such that an individual cannot be later prosecuted for the conduct underlying the disgorgement. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's denial of appellant's motion to dismiss the indictment. View "United States v. Bank" on Justia Law

A putative class of former shareholders in Towers, Watson & Co. filed suit alleging that several defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act by omitting material facts in proxy documents, rendering statements in those documents false or misleading. The district court dismissed the complaint.The Fourth Circuit vacated and held that the statute of limitations begins to run for a claim governed by 15 U.S.C. 78i(f) when the plaintiff has discovery notice. Applying this standard, the court held that the putative class filed suit within one year of discovering the facts constituting the violation. Therefore, the district court erred in dismissing plaintiffs' suit as time-barred. The court also held that plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that the omitted facts were material and the district court erred in dismissing the Section 14(a) claim. Finally, the court held that none of the three alternative grounds presented by defendants supported the district court's dismissal order. View "In re: Willis Towers Watson" on Justia Law

After the merger of RCA and AFIN, RCA shareholders filed suit alleging that the proxy statement was false and misleading under federal securities laws. In this case, the shareholders alleged that the proxy statements and omissions regarding (A) the AFIN NAV; (B) the sale of the Merrill Lynch properties; (C) SunTrust Bank; and (D) the AFIN Standalone Projections were materially misleading.The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the claims, holding that the statements the shareholders complained of were not false or misleading and the alleged omissions were addressed by narrowly tailored warning language. View "Paradise Wire & Cable Defined Benefit Pension Plan v. Weil" on Justia Law

In these appeals arising from the dismissal of a securities fraud class action complaint, the complaint alleged that the Company conjured up and carried out a scheme that enabled surgeons to utilize the AxiaLIF system and secure fraudulent reimbursements from various health insurers and government-funded healthcare programs. In regard to appeal No. 15-2579, the Fourth Circuit held that the Complaint satisfied the misrepresentation and scienter elements of the section 10(b) claim of the Securities Exchange Act. Therefore, the court vacated the district court's ruling holding otherwise. In regard to appeal No. 16-1019, the court affirmed the district court's ruling that the complaint sufficiently alleged the loss causation element. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Singer v. Reali" on Justia Law

In these appeals arising from the dismissal of a securities fraud class action complaint, the complaint alleged that the Company conjured up and carried out a scheme that enabled surgeons to utilize the AxiaLIF system and secure fraudulent reimbursements from various health insurers and government-funded healthcare programs. In regard to appeal No. 15-2579, the Fourth Circuit held that the Complaint satisfied the misrepresentation and scienter elements of the section 10(b) claim of the Securities Exchange Act. Therefore, the court vacated the district court's ruling holding otherwise. In regard to appeal No. 16-1019, the court affirmed the district court's ruling that the complaint sufficiently alleged the loss causation element. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Singer v. Reali" on Justia Law

A disinterested observer could not reasonably conclude that the Commission violated SEC Rule of Practice 900(a). Although Rule 900(a) sets timelines by which the Commission would ideally adjudicate cases, the permissive language of the text could not lead an employee to reasonably conclude that failing to meet such aspirational guidelines would amount to a "violation." Plaintiff petitioned for review of the Board's decision affirming the ALJ's determination that plaintiff was not entitled to relief under the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8). After plaintiff was fired from his position at the SEC, plaintiff claimed that his supervisor terminated him in reprisal for raising concerns about his section's alleged chronic inefficiency. The Second Circuit held that the ALJ did not err in rejecting plaintiff's Rule 900(a) claim and that the ALJ more than adequately explained why an employee in plaintiff's position could not have reasonably concluded that Rule 900(a) was violated. Because the ALJ did not actually analyze plaintiff's claims that he made protected disclosures when he raised concerns that Adjudication violated Rule 900(b), the court remanded the issue to the ALJ. Finally, the court declined to address plaintiff's claims of evidentiary and discovery error. Accordingly, the court denied in part, granted in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Flynn v. SEC" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Maguire Financial's amended complaint in a securities fraud class action. The court held that Maguire Financial's amended complaint failed to adequately allege scienter where a statement by the CEO of PowerSecure, to securities analysts that the company had secured a "contract renewal" could not form the basis for liability under section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78(b), and Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. 240.10b-5, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(b)(2). View "Maguire Financial, LP v. Powersecure International, Inc." on Justia Law

Scottsdale are respondents in an ongoing disciplinary proceeding before FINRA for allegedly selling unregistered securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. 77e, and FINRA Rule 2010. Scottsdale sought an injunction in federal district court before FINRA completed its proceedings, claiming the FINRA proceeding is unauthorized because FINRA may only discipline members for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq. The district court dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Because Scottsdale can obtain meaningful judicial review of its claim in this court following the appeal process outlined in the Exchange Act, the court held that its challenge to FINRA’s authority is the type of claim Congress intended to be reviewed within the statutory scheme. Therefore, the court concluded that the district court properly dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and affirmed the judgment. View "Scottsdale Capital Advisors v. FINRA" on Justia Law

In 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission instituted an administrative proceeding against Dawn Bennett and her law firm (collectively, Bennett) to determine whether Bennett had violated the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission assigned the initial stages of the proceeding to an ALJ, and the ALJ scheduled a hearing on the merits of Bennett’s case. Bennett subsequently filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the administrative enforcement proceeding. Specifically, the Complaint alleged that the SEC’s administrative enforcement proceedings violated Article II of the United States Constitution. The district court dismissed the suit on jurisdictional grounds. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that Congress has impliedly divested district-court jurisdiction over the agency action. View "Bennett v. U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, a class of investors, filed this suit claiming that Chelsea Therapeutics International, LTD. and several of its corporate officers violated the Securities Exchange Act by making misleading statements and material omissions about the development and likelihood of regulatory approval for a new drug. The district court dismissed the claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), concluding that Plaintiffs’ securities fraud claims failed because their allegations were insufficient to establish that Defendants acted with the required scienter. The Fourth Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment dismissing Plaintiffs’ complaint, holding that the district court erred in (1) taking judicial notice of three documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission because those documents were not explicitly referenced in, or an integral part of, Plaintiffs’ complaint, and the error was not harmless; and (2) concluding that Plaintiffs’ allegations of scienter were insufficient as a matter of law, as, based on Defendants’ failure to disclose critical information about the weaknesses of the new drug application, Plaintiffs’ allegations were sufficient to support the required inference of scienter. Remanded. View "Zak v. Chelsea Therapeutics Int’l" on Justia Law