John Jordak was quoted in an April 16, 2010, Securities Law360 article discussing recent securities decisions handed down over the first quarter of 2010. Jordak notes that courts are establishing a pattern of requiring plaintiffs to show that companies were not simply caught up in a far-reaching economic crisis beyond their control. “Any motion to dismiss that is teed up right now, the courts will take a very, very hard look at whether the plaintiffs have met the pleading standards,” Jordak said.
Jordak also commented on several specific cases in the article:
SEC v. James Tambone and Robert Hussey – “The decision is significant because the court recognizes that aiding and abetting liability is not expansive under the securities law and the reading that the SEC wanted would have effectively made it that way.”
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 773 Pension Fund v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce et al. – Here, Jordak noted that this case was an example of courts recognizing the unprecedented nature of the financial crisis. “The court granted a motion to dismiss, in essence saying you can’t hold financial institutions liable for not being able to read a crystal ball.”