Securities Law Commons^™

New And Comprehensive Duties Of Securities Sellers To Investigate, Disclose, And Have An "Adequate Basis" For Representations, Willoughby C. Johnson

Michigan Law Review

The duties of investigation and disclosure imposed upon securities salesmen have been significantly enlarged by several recent cases generated by the Second Circuit's 1963 decision of Berko v. SEC. In a hearing before the Securities and Exchange Commission it was found that Berko was a salesman working out of an acknowledged "boiler room." His employer had provided its salesmen, including Berko, with fraudulent sales brochures, some of which were subsequently distributed by Berko. The action by the Commission against Berko arose out of the sale of a specific security to a customer who had received fraudulent sales brochures and …

Public Utility Debt Ratios And The Public Interest--Reasonable Fixed Charges And Just And Reasonable Rates, Melvin G. Dakin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Mr, Dakin explores the complex and difficult field of the financing of public utilities corporations. He describes and evaluates the approaches of four commissions: the Securities and Exchange Commission which must approve the reorganization of public utilities corporations which have gone into bankruptcy, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and the Michigan Public Service Commission. He concludes by suggesting that in some instances these agencies are placing too great emphasis on their conception of sound financing at the expense of the customers served by these utilities.

Securities Regulation-Civil Liability Under Rule X-10b-5 For Fraud In The Purchase Or Sale Of Securities, J. David Voss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On May 21, 1942 the Securities and Exchange Commission, pursuant to section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, promulgated rule X-10B-5.2 The purpose of the new rule was apparently to close a loophole in the then existing pattern of regulation of the purchase and sale of securities. The loophole resulted from a gap between section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, which prohibits the use of fraud in the sale of securities by any person, and section 15(c)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits the use of fraud in the sale or purchase of …

Integration Of Public Utility Holding Companies, Robert F. Ritchie

Michigan Legal Studies Series

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation ever enacted by Congress, but despite this fact it has withstood numerous and vigorous attacks upon its constitutionality and, further, it has never been amended in any material respect. The Securities and Exchange Commission was confronted in 1935 with one of the most difficult administrative tasks in modern history. How it met and resolved the difficult problems of geographical and economic integration, arising under the so-called "death sentence" provisions of this Act, is the subject matter of this publication.

The research involved in …

Loss: Securities Regulation, Arthur H. Dean

Michigan Law Review

A Review of SECURITIES REGULATION. By Louis Loss.

Corporations-Voluntary Reorganization Under The Public Utility Holding Company Act Of 1935-Valuation Of Stock Option Warrant, William H. Bates

Michigan Law Review

Appellant corporation submitted a voluntary reorganization plan to the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to sections II(h)(2) and II(e) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. The plan consisted of two parts. The first proposed consolidation of three of the appellant's subsidiaries into a newly formed operational company. The second part provided for dissolution of the appellant corporation, with the holders of securities therein being issued stock in the new corporation to the extent of the value of their interest in the appellant corporation. All the security holders of appellant were allowed participation in the securities of the …

Federal Regulation And State Gambling Laws, Walter H. Moses

Vanderbilt Law Review

The statement that the detailed regulation of security exchanges and transactions conducted thereon which is embodied in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 and the regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder constitutes an encouragement to gambling in securities, no doubt quite properly places a heavy burden of proof on the person making it. This article has as its purpose a demonstration of the truth of such statement.

Constitutional Law-Public Utility Holding Company Act--Validity Of Holding Company "Death Sentence" Clause, John A. Huston

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was the topmost holding company in a public utility holding company system which included eighty subsidiaries and served three million customers in seventeen states. By provision of section 11 (b) (1) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the Securities and Exchange Commission was empowered to limit the operations of a holding company registered with it under the act to "a single integrated public utility system." Acting under this authority, the commission ordered petitioner, a registered company, to divest itself of all its subsidiary holdings excepting certain interests regarded by the commission as a single integrated system …

Corporate Proxies: Ii, Leonard H. Axe

Michigan Law Review

The first installment of this article discussed the historical development of the right and power to vote by proxy, and examined the cases dealing with the regulation by by-law of the right to vote by proxy, who may act as proxy holders, and the form of the proxy. Emphasis was placed upon the practical aspects of the execution of proxies and the duties of inspectors of elections. The present installment will take up the persons entitled to appoint proxy holders, the right to examine proxies, the scope of authority conferred and exercise of power, circumstances under which a stockholder is …

Public Officers - Liability Of Federal Officers For Quasi-Judlcial Acts, Arthur M. Hoffeins

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sought to withdraw a registration statement which he had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The commission denied him the right to do so and applied for a court order to enforce a previously issued subpoena to compel the plaintiff to appear before it and to produce books relating to the registration statement. After the Supreme Court had upheld the plaintiff's right to withdraw the statement, he brought an action for damages against the members of the commission for malicious prosecution, libel and slander, etc., alleging in addition that the defendants had acted maliciously and in bad faith. …

The New Schoolmaster In Finance, Hiram L. Jome

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to present the attitude and views of the Securities and Exchange Commission on various financial problems. Several phases of the commission's thinking are in the writer's opinion extreme and questionable, or even unsound. Its actions have not always been consistent with its official views. Since the writer's purpose, however, has been merely to describe and not to criticize, no attempt has been made to appraise the work of the commission.

Holding Company Act - "Fair And Equitable" Plan, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Should the words "fair and equitable" in section II (e) of the Holding Company Act be construed differently than the same words in section 77 B of the Bankruptcy Act? The Securities and Exchange Commission faced this question in disposing of a proposed plan of merger involving Utility Operators Company and subsidiaries. A divided commission gave an affirmative answer to the above question, holding "fair and equitable" in the Holding Company Act to permit relative priority. This holding merits particular interest since the United States Supreme Court has held the same words as used in section 77B permitted only absolute …

Corporations - Modification Provisions Of Corporate Mortgages And Trust Indentures, Charles H. Haines Jr.

Michigan Law Review

As early as the late 1800's it was not uncommon to find included in corporate mortgages and trust indentures provisions looking to the modification of the rights of the bondholders by action of a given majority of such holders. Ordinarily the power conferred could not be exercised by the holders of less than seventy-five per cent in value of the outstanding bonds; the modification authorized might be the alteration of security rights, the deferment of payments of interest or principal, the reduction of interest, or even the reduction of the debt. Inasmuch as the same equitable doctrines limit their use, …

Securities Legislation - Act Of 1933 - Withdrawal Of Registration Statement, Fred C. Newman

Michigan Law Review

The right to withdraw, a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission was involved in a recent case. The plaintiff had filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statement became effective. Thereafter, the commission instituted proceedings under the stop order provision. There had been no sale of shares to which the registration statement related. After the hearings commenced, plaintiff petitioned the commission for permission to withdraw the registration statement. The commission denied the petition. Thereupon plaintiff filed a bill in equity, praying that the commission be required to permit plaintiff to withdraw its registration …

Corporations - Right Of The Registrant To Withdraw A Registration Statement Under The Securities Act Of 1933, Arthur A. Greene Jr.

Michigan Law Review

One day after the registration statement filed by the corporation became effective, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered a hearing to determine whether or not a stop order should be issued to suspend the effectiveness of the registration statement. Various issues of the same stock which registrant proposed to issue had been sold on the market, prior to the filing of the registration statement. During the hearings the corporation filed a motion to withdraw its registration statement. The motion was denied. The Securities and Exchange Commission applied to the district court for an order to compel obedience to its subpoena …

Corporations - Securities Exchange Act - Unlisted Trading Privileges, Marcus L. Plant

Michigan Law Review

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended in 1936, the Securities and Exchange Commission is empowered to extend unlisted trading privileges to any security upon application by an exchange and the fulfillment of the terms and conditions of the statute.

Securities Legislation - Securities Act Of 1933 - Registration Statement - "Material Contract'', Gerald M. Stevens

Michigan Law Review

A registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 had borrowed from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation $200,000, payment of which was secured by mortgage of most of the debtor's assets. Registrant still owed $136,000 overdue when it filed its amended registration statement. It said therein that it had applied to the RFC for an eighteen-months extension of the debt and that the application had not then been acted upon. After the statement was filed but before it became effective, the RFC denied registrant extension of the debt and made a counter proposal for payment in part and extension in part. In …