Trainer Wortham & Company, Inc., et al. v. Betz

Case Updates

The Supreme Court granted review of a securities class action, but then vacated and remanded the case in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Merck & Co., Inc., et al. v. Reynolds, et al. In Merck, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute of limitations on securities fraud claims begins to run once the plaintiff discovers or reasonably would have discovered a violation.

NCLC urged the Supreme Court to decide whether the statute of limitations for 10(b)-5 fraud actions begins to run when an investor is put on notice to inquire about the possibility of fraud, or when there is evidence of an actual intent to defraud, as held by the lower court. If the lower court’s decision is left to stand, securities fraud plaintiffs in some circuits could have years longer to bring a lawsuit than plaintiffs raising identical claims in other circuits, effectively eliminating the two-year statute of limitations Congress provided in the law.