U.S. v. Bartko : A securities lawyer convicted of crimes arising from a fraudulent investment scheme cannot win a new trial based on his claims that the government withheld information favorable to his case; the 4th Circuit upholds the lawyer’s convictions, but admonishes the prosecutors in this district about a pattern of discovery abuse.

Tagged with: Securities

RFT Management Co. v. Tinsley & Adams L.L.P. Since the parties agreed at trial that plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim involved questions of fact that required submission of the claim to a jury, plaintiff may not now complain that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on its legal malpractice claim.

Tagged with: Attorneys Fiduciary Duty Legal Malpractice Claim Real Property Securities Tort/Negligence Unfair Trade Practices

Wachovia Securities LLC v. Brand A securities firm that lost its FINRA arbitration proceeding against former employees who left to work for a competitor winds up paying over $1 million in attorney’s fees under a South Carolina statute that penalizes frivolous lawsuits; the 4th Circuit affirms the district court order refusing to vacate the arbitration award in favor of the former employees and upholding the award of $15,080 in treble damages and $1.1 million in attorney’s fees under the South Carolina Frivolous Civil Proceedings Act.

Tagged with: Arbitration Attorneys Fees Labor & Employment Securities

Katyle v. Penn National Gaming Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-055-11, 31 pp.) (Baldock, J.) No. 09-2272, March 14, 2010; USDC at Greenbelt, Md. (Messitte, J.) 4th Cir. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Plaintiffs, investors who ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Fraud Securities

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court grappled with the question of whether a claim may be stated against a service management company for alleged securities violations of the mutual funds it sponsors. Appealed from the 4th Circuit, the case, Janus Capital Group v. First Derivative Traders, is a class action brought by shareholders who claim they received misleading information in prospectuses regarding a group of mutual funds - Janus Funds, sponsored by the Janus Capital Group, which is managed by its subsidiary Janus Capital Management (JCM).

Tagged with: 4th Circuit Class Action Securities U.S. Supreme Court