Securities Law Commons^™

Plaintiff's Standard Of Care After Hochfelder: Toward A Theory Of Causation, Robert P. Bryant

Vanderbilt Law Review

The extended debate by the Institute illustrates the logical and even emotional difficulty of dealing with the victim of an admittedly intentional deception who has acted foolishly in his own behalf and does not seem to deserve recovery. The crux of the controversy in the common law deceit cases mirrors that in the 10b-5 cases:should the victim have to investigate, and what might trigger an obligation to investigate? As this discussion demonstrates, tort principles provide some guidance. In deceit cases, the obligations placed on the plaintiff arise from the requirement that his reliance be justified. To the extent that his …

Recent Cases, Robert E. Banta, Oby T. Brewer, Iii, Cornelia A. Clark, I. Terry Currie, Douglas W. Ey, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law-First Amendment-School Authorities May Prohibit High School Student's Distribution of Sex Questionnaire to Prevent Possible Psychological Harm to Other Students Robert Edward Banta

Plaintiff, editor of a high school publication,' brought suit in federal court seeking an order compelling defendant school officials to allow the student publication to distribute a sex questionnaire,to students in the high school and to publish the results. Plaintiff claimed that defendants had not shown that the planned distribution would disrupt school activities and that, therefore, defendants'prohibition of the questionnaire violated 42 U.S.C. § 19831 and the first and fourteenth amendments. Pointing to potential psychological …

Recent Cases, James H. Lokey, Jr., Stephen D. Goodwin, Charles L. Jarik

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Criminal Procedure-Circuits Split over Application of Stone v. Powell's "Opportunity for Full and Fair Litigation"

James H. Lokey, Jr.

In Stone v. Powell,' the third 1976 decision, the Supreme Court made a limited but distinct break with precedent. Stone held that a state prisoner may not be granted federal habeas relief on the ground that evidence obtained in an unconstitutional search and seizure was introduced at his trial as long as the state has provided an "opportunity for full and fair litigation" of his fourth amendment claim." The Court, as noted previously, did not define what kind of "opportunity" …

Public Utility Holding Company Act Of 1935 -- Fossil Or Foil?, Douglas W. Hawes

Vanderbilt Law Review

The 1935 Act, like the Investment Company Act of 1940, is concerned primarily with regulation and does not emphasize disclosure, as does the Securities Act of 1933. Under the 1935 Act, unless an exemption is available, all holding companies whose subsidiaries are engaged in the electric utility business or in the retail distribution of natural or manufactured gas must register. Once registered, a holding company becomes subject to two principal kinds of provisions under the Act. The geographical integration and corporate simplification process mandated by section 11 (and sections 6, 7, 9, and 10, which are designed to prevent new …

Exemptions Under The Proposed Federal Securities Code, James H. Cheek, Iii

Vanderbilt Law Review

The policy of full, accurate, and continuous disclosure to investors embodied in the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act)' and in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (1934 Act) continues unfettered* Lecturer in under the proposed Federal Securities Code (the Code), but the provisions effecting that policy are consolidated and simplified. Under the Code, a company must register itself (not its securities) with the Commission after the first year-end at which it has at least one million dollars in total assets and three hundred holders of its aggregate, nonexempted securities or when the Code first requires it to file an …

Introduction: The Federal Securities Code -- Its Purpose, Plan, And Progress, Louis Loss

Vanderbilt Law Review

The first generation of federal securities statutes, vintage 1933-40, has sprouted tentacles in so many areas of the American corpus juris that it is not easy to think of any field in which so much law-and lore-have been built on so flimsy a statutory base. The nineteen-page grandfather statute, the Securities Act of 1933, goes on, with a continually enhanced fertility that belies its years, to yield esoterica like the "140 series" of rules: professed "safe harbors" whose entrances are guarded by Cerberus atop Scylla and a bevy of Sirens cavorting in Charybdis. In the area of "fraud" that peripatetic …

Preamble, Herbert Wechsler

Vanderbilt Law Review

As readers of the Review are undoubtedly aware, the American Law Institute was organized in 1923 as a permanent organization of lawyers, judges, and law teachers "to promote," as its charter recites, "the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs." ...

Work on the Code began' in 1969 with Professor Loss as the Reporter, aided by consultants and advisers whose experience and expertise is equaled only by their high distinction in this field. Five tentative drafts have been printed in the years from 1972 to 1976 and a sixth, which now is off the …

The Issuer Registration And Distribution Provisions Of The Proposed Federal Securities Code, Kenneth J. Bialkin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Section 403 of the Code provides that "[a] registration statement shall contain whatever information, financial statements, material contracts and other documents the Commission specifies by rule. This complete legislative delegation to the Commission, in Professor Loss's view, "seems perfectly safe in the year 1972. "One need not criticize the Commission's competence in the disclosure area, however, to suggest that after some 35 years of experience with the securities laws a statute prescribing the basic disclosure items (similar to the 1933 Act's Schedule A) should be possible, as well as appropriate and desirable. The wisdom of leaving the entire job to …

Postregistration Provisions Of The Federal Securities Code, Alfred J. Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

The discussion of Part VI of the Federal Securities Code, dealing with postregistration provisions, falls naturally into three general areas: reporting requirements for registered companies, tender requests, and solicitation of proxies. This article will examine each category separately.

The Securities And Exchange Commission And The Code, Ray Garrett, Jr., William B. Weaver

Vanderbilt Law Review

Under the Federal Securities Code, the Commission's discretionary power will be restricted by the Code itself, by formal and informal congressional oversight, and by the Commission's traditionally judicious use of its powers. With these restraints, Congress should not be reluctant to grant to the Commission the new powers proposed in the Code. This article has concentrated on the balance between those new powers and the constraints on the Commission. It should be emphasized, as it certainly is elsewhere in this symposium, that the Code's changes of the Commission's responsibilities will enhance the Commission's ability to administer the securities laws fairly …

Recent Cases, Sara P. Walsh, Don B. Cannada, Frances L. Adams, William T. Luedke, Iv

Vanderbilt Law Review

Civil Procedure - Appellate Jurisdiction - Orders Denying Disqualification of Counsel on Ethical Grounds Are Not Final Decisions Subject to Immediate Review Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291

Sara Porter Walsh

Petitioner,' an applicant for a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcasting license, sought interlocutory review of a Commission order' denying a motion to disqualify the law firm that had represented competitor RKO for thirty years. Petitioner alleged that participation by the firm, which included an attorney who was chairman of the FCC while RKO's application was under consideration, constituted a violation of Canons Five and Nine' of the ABA Code of …

Recent Cases, Samuel E. Stumpf, Jr., M. Carolyn Barefield, Robert S. Reder, Stephen C. Morton, Randolph C. Coley

Vanderbilt Law Review

Noerr-Pennington Immunity for Joint Efforts to Influence Governmental Action - Intent to Cause Competitive Injury, Evidenced by Repeated, Baseless Opposition Before an Adjudicatory Body, Does Not Result in Loss of Noerr-Pennington Immunity Absent Specific Allegations of Conduct External to or Abusive of the Adjutory Processes

Samuel E. Stumpf, Jr.

Constitutional Law - First Amendment - Student's Right to Receive Information Precludes Board's Removal of Allegedly Offensive Books from High School Library

M. Carolyn Barefield

Constitutional Law-Search and Seizure - Federal Courts Are Bound by Federal Wiretapping Statutes and Will Not Exclude Evidence Seized by State Agents in Violation of More …

Fiduciaries And Fairness Under Rule 10b-5, Thomas J. Sherrard

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Marshel v. AFW Fabric Corp., decided on February 13,1976, the court unanimously sustained a challenge to long-form merger under New York law for the sole purpose of "going private,"concluding that despite full disclosure, the merger itself constituted a fraudulent scheme because it represented an attempt by the majority stockholders, in violation of their fiduciary obligations, to utilize corporate funds strictly for personal benefit and for no legitimate corporate purpose...

It is the purpose of this article to analyze the Green and Marshel decisions against the backdrop of previous cases in the area of fraudulent mismanagement, to gauge their impact …

The Private Action Against A Securities Fraud Aider And Abettor: Silent And Inactive Conduct, Clyde A. Billings, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Note will examine the origins of the aiding and abetting cause of action and the development of a theory of liability based solely upon passive conduct. After an examination of the elements of the cause of action and defenses, a proposed definition of "aiding and abetting" will be offered. The effect of the recent Supreme Court decision Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder upon aiding and abetting liability, the scienter requirement, and the duties owed by potential aiders and abettors will be discussed. Treatment of aiding and abetting by the Federal Securities Code 19 also is mentioned.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board: A New Concept Of Self-Regulation, Roswell C. Dikeman

Vanderbilt Law Review

The municipal securities industry, an important segment of the national capital markets, directly affects both the quality of life and the pace of community development throughout the nation. Municipal securities, broadly defined to include all debt securities issued or guaranteed by the states and their political subdivisions,' are the vehicle by which states, their agencies, and local governments finance both long- and short-term debt requirements. In calendar 1975, for example, the municipal securities industry raised approximately 29.2 billion dollars in long-term issues. In 1973, 8,147 long- and short-term issues raised almost 48 billion dollars, or approximately one-quarter of all direct …

Disclosure By Issuers Of Municipal Securities: An Analysis Of Recent Proposals And A Suggested Approach, Robert D. Tuke

Vanderbilt Law Review

The following considerations impacting on the disclosure issue have been developed in this Note: the uniqueness of the municipal securities industry, owing to the diverse natures of the securities, the wide variety of issuers, and the particular means of marketing the securities; the special circumstances created for underwriters by the competitive bidding process; the varied roles of other participants in the distribution process--fiscal agents, bond counsel, governmental accountants; the existing state machinery for regulation and control; the practical limitations on the SEC--both in staff capacity and expertise; the need for uniformity in disclosure to prevent weakened marketability of municipal securities …

Recent Cases, Richard T. Hurt, Jay D. Christiansen, William J. Rees, William D. Gutermuth

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Action Under Color of State Law--Legislative Authorization of Private Action Resembling Public Function Constitutes Action Under Color of State Law

The instant case creates a two to two split in the circuits on the question whether the seizure of a tenant's possessions under a land-lord lien statute is action under color of state law. The decisions in Davis and Anastasia provide the potential for abuse that Fuentes was designed to prevent-the indiscriminate entry into the debtor's home and seizure of his belongings without prior notice and hearing.Hall and the instant opinion, however, provide a more equitable result. While the …

Special Project, Kenneth Harmon, Barbara Moss, W. Patrick Mulloy, Ii, Robert H. Brownlee, Walter T. Eccard, Michael D. Kelly, Timothy C. Maguire, Richard M. Pitt, Stephen K. Rush, Robert D. Tuke, Richard C. Stark Special Project Editor

Vanderbilt Law Review

The One Hundred and First Justice: An Analysis of the Opinions of Justice John Paul Stevens, Sitting as Judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

This article will examine the opinions written by Mr. Justice Stevens while he served on the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The areas examined are constitutional, antitrust, labor, securities, federal tax, administrative, and federal jurisdictional law. This article also will seek to reach some conclusions on Stevens' position in the several areas while he served on the Seventh Circuit and to suggest the factors he may consider important in deciding cases in …

Recent Cases, Susan E. Dominick, Robert D. Butters, Walter T. Eccard

Vanderbilt Law Review

The first amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion, although couched in absolute terms, has never been considered an absolute right. The first significant free exercise case, Reynolds v.United States,' upheld the conviction of a Mormon polygamist who claimed a religious exemption from the bigamy laws on the basis of the first amendment. The Court held that while Congress was left powerless to legislate in matters of mere opinion, it was nonetheless" left free to reach actions which were in violation of social duties or subversive of good order."'

Susan E. Dominick

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The instant decision appears to be the …

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act: Preemption As Public Policy, Philip F. Johnson

Vanderbilt Law Review

On October 23, 1974, President Ford signed into law P.L. 93-463, bearing the breathless title "Commodity Futures Trading Com-mission Act of 1974"' [hereinafter the CFTC Act]. The CFTC Act followed a series of hearings, beginning in the summer of 1973, held first by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Small Business and followed rapidly by the more traditional oversight committees of the Congress-the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee.' The result was a major over-haul of the Commodity Exchange Act, which had governed the commodity futures markets since 1922. More significantly, however,the Act has become …

Registration And Exemption From Registration Of Employee Compensation Plans Under The Federal Securities Laws, Dean L. Overman

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article is a basic summary of the rather complex federal securities laws concerning the registration of employee compensation plans. It centers around certain provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. The article initially discusses the necessity of registering the following four types of employee compensation plans: (1) pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus and similar plans; (2) employee stock purchase plans; (3) stock option plans; and (4) phantom stock plans. It then considers certain exemptions for these plans and the means available to employees to effect a …

Municipal Bonds And The Federal Securities Laws: The Results Of Forty Years Of Indirect Regulation, Bruce N. Hawthorne

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent abuses occurring in the municipal bond markets have threatened investor confidence and caused Congress to reevaluate its original decision to exempt these securities from the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This Note will analyze in some depth the securities regulation aspects of the municipal securities markets. First, because an understanding of the unique nature of municipal securities and their markets is essential, a description will be made of the characteristics of municipal bonds and municipal bond purchasers, the participants in the municipal securities industry, and the new issue and trading markets for municipal …

Recent Cases, Gregg N. Gimsley

Vanderbilt Law Review

The instant decision is of major importance because it clearly defines a more liberal standard for aiding and abetting under section 10(b), reads a requirement of due care by accountants into section 17(a), and serves as an additional warning to the accounting profession of its expanding responsibilities in the field of securities regulation. By establishing negligence, duty to disclose, and causal connection, rather than actual knowledge, substantial assistance,and reliance, as the major elements of aiding and abetting a violation of Rule 10b-5, the Seventh Circuit has given this cause of action the broadest interpretation to date. Nothing precluded this interpretation …

Truth In Financial Statements: An Introduction, Douglas W. Hawes

Vanderbilt Law Review

When used in relation to a periodical, the word "symposium"refers to "a collection of opinions on a subject." The word derives from the Greek "sympinein," to drink together, and originally was applied to a drinking party in which conversation and intellectual entertainment played a vital part. To our "party" we have invited a distinguished group of authors representing in some cases widely differing points of view. They have contributed articles dealing with various aspects of these problems of financial reporting and auditing. We leave to you, the reader, and to those engaged in the continuing debate the final judgment on …

Sec Enforcement And Professional Accountants: Philosophy, Objectives And Approach, John C. Burton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Commission's enforcement program in regard to professional accountants is one of the means by which it seeks to improve the quality and reliability of financial reporting in the United States. Effective utilization of this program can achieve an increasing quality of professional performance and the implementation on an industry-wide basis of improved quality control procedures, thereby assuring the vitality of auditing standards and public confidence in the profession as a whole. These objectives are being achieved through a selective, albeit vigorous, application of enforcement powers and the continued use of flexible and innovative approaches by the SEC. While the …

The Fairness Myth, Victor M. Earle, Iii

Vanderbilt Law Review

Any type of fairness doctrine for liability, no matter how superficially if not seductively appealing, would effectively destroy the guarantee of professionalism that the securities law and the ac-counting profession have for so long sought to instill in financial reporting. Without the assurance that accountants are consistently applying those principles that- find general acceptance within the accounting profession, the accountant's opinion will mean nothing to a shareholder, investor, or creditor, unless by some magic he can personally observe the particular "fairness" bias of the individual accountant who performed the audit.51 Instead of enhancing the stature of the accountant's opinion and …

Current Problems Of Accountants'responsibilities To Third Parties, T. J. Fiflis

Vanderbilt Law Review

When the auditor begins the audit program, he will record in "working papers" his work and findings. Each page will be dated and initialed by all persons who dealt with it. The papers should be indexed and bound and retained for some years. They should also be comprehensible as they are intended for use by others as well as for later use.

A trial balance is usually the first working paper. Other standard working papers are data from the corporate charter, by-laws,and minutes and analyses of accounts, prescribed by the audit program. One of the last working papers will be …

We Often Paint Fakes, Abraham J. Brilof

Vanderbilt Law Review

To begin, the profession has disseminated the message far and wide that its members are the high priests responsible for the interpretation and application of a very special body of knowledge known as "generally accepted accounting principles" usually referred to as "GAAP." On analysis one quickly discerns that no such defined body of principles exists. Some commentators maintain, in fact,that not a single accounting precept is deserving of the designation"principle" and these exegetics urge that the critical phrase be changed to read "generally accepted accounting standards," hence" GAAS." Others, reflecting on the evils perpetrated in the name of GAAP and/or …

The Establishment Of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles And Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, James F. Strother

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will discuss accounting principles and auditing standards and the respective roles played in their development and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the organized accounting profession and other public and private agencies. Accounting principles and auditing standards comprise two fundamentally different and distinct bodies of convention and practice. Generally accepted accounting principles and generally accepted auditing standards are those principles and standards which for a number of reasons have come to be accepted and applied by issuers, accountants, and auditors. Combined with the procedures and techniques attending their observation and application, generally accepted accounting principles and auditing …

Accounting Standards In The United States And The United Kingdom: Their Nature, Causes And Consequences, George J. Benston

Vanderbilt Law Review

The purpose of this article is to account for the existence of differing accounting standards in the United States and the United Kingdom despite a common language, common practice and a fundamentally common political and economic base in the two countries. What factors explain the fact that, while accounting standards in the United States are codified and explicit, they remain on the whole uncodified and implicit in Great Britain? From which system does the investor more likely benefit? The first section of this paper begins with descriptions of auditing and reporting standards in each country. The factors which influence the …