Stoll Berne is co-lead counsel for the investors in the case arising out of the Aequitas Ponzi scheme, asserting claims against Aequitas’ auditors, lawyers, and others for participant/aider liability under the Oregon Securities Law. A proposed $234.6 million class settlement has been preliminarily approved by the District of Oregon. This is believed to be the largest settlement of a securities case in Oregon history.
Keith Ketterling and Keith Dubanevich obtained a $180 million settlement on behalf of Bank of New York Mellon investors in a lawsuit alleging that the bank operated a deceptive foreign currency exchange program. The lawsuit further alleged that the bank had misled its investors about the profitability and viability of this line of business. Stoll Berne served as Special Assistant Attorneys General to lead plaintiff the State of Oregon and worked closely with class counsel Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP to bring the lawsuit to a successful resolution.
A team of Stoll Berne attorneys served as Special Assistant Attorneys General to the State of Oregon in its role as co-lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase. Along with co-counsel, we were able to obtain a $150 million settlement.
Robert Stoll, Gary Berne, and Steve Larson obtained an $88 million jury verdict, on behalf of investors in a class action for violations of the federal securities laws.
In a securities class action against Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Steve Larson and Tim DeJong helped to obtain a $65 million settlement as one of the lead attorneys for the shareholders. The lawsuit arose out of the defendant’s misrepresentations regarding its oriented-strandboard siding. Louisiana-Pacific Corp. Securities Litigation, USDC Case No. CV 95-707-JO.
The firm recovered $43.5 million on behalf of investors in Assisted Living Concepts in a nationwide securities class action arising out of accounting for related party transactions. The recovery obtained by Gary Berne and Tim DeJong included $13.5 million from the company’s auditor, KPMG, which was at the time was one of the largest recoveries against an accounting firm in Oregon history.
Stoll Berne attorneys Gary Berne and Tim DeJong obtained more than $20 million in total settlements on behalf of shareholders of Southern Pacific Funding Corp. (SPFC) in a securities class action arising out of the mortgage securitization company’s accounting for residual securities interests.
Keith Ketterling and Tim DeJong defended Pacific Continental Bank in an Oregon class action on behalf of shareholders of the Berjac companies. Pacific Continental Bank was one of two defendant banks alleged to have aided sales of Berjac securities by providing lines of credit to Berjac that allegedly were used by Berjac to finance a Ponzi-like scheme. With the assistance of Stoll Berne, Pacific Continental Bank settled for a fraction of the amount paid by its co-defendant bank.
In a securities fraud lawsuit alleging that the defendant misrepresented key information about its services and finances, a team of Stoll Berne attorneys obtained reversal of the trial court’s dismissal of the case for the lead plaintiff State of Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund. The lawsuit alleged that when the truth came to light, and as a result of the misstatements, Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System lost in excess of $10 million. Over the course of more than a decade of litigation, Stoll Berne attorneys Keith Ketterling, Keith Dubanevich, Josh Ross, and Steve Berman argued the case to the trial court, twice before the Oregon Court of Appeals, and before the Oregon Supreme Court and in the course of doing so established important precedent regarding the “fraud on the market” doctrine in Oregon.
Stoll Berne attorney Josh Ross represented a former NFL player who invested $400,000 in a real estate development. After the developer refused to return the investment pursuant to the terms of the investment agreement, the investor retained Ross to make a formal demand and pursue litigation. The developer returned the full investment before a lawsuit was filed.
Tim DeJong and Josh Ross defeated a $3 million claim for violations of the Oregon Securities Law relating to a tenancy-in-common (TIC) investment. After discovery and with a motion for summary judgment pending, the plaintiffs dismissed their claims with prejudice and without any payment.
Josh Ross successfully represented a former NBA basketball player who filed claims against his broker/investment advisor and firm that employed the broker, alleging the broker defrauded him by misrepresenting facts about an investment, by taking the client’s investment for his personal use, and ultimately by stealing the investment property and selling it for his own use. Months after filing a lawsuit, Ross helped the client settle with the broker, who agreed to pay the entire loss. After the broker failed to pay, Ross filed a FINRA arbitration against the broker’s former employer, a worldwide brokerage firm, alleging that the firm failed to supervise the broker’s activities. Ross tried the case to a panel of FINRA arbitrators. Three days following the close of evidence, the panel issued an award in favor of Stoll Berne’s client, awarding the full amount of the damages sought.
Keith Ketterling represented a regional broker-dealer in defending securities fraud claims by investors that exceeded $20 million. The firm obtained favorable settlements at relatively minimal cost to the client.
Stoll Berne served as liaison counsel in multi-district litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. In March 2020, US District Court Judge Michael Simon approved a $32 million settlement that resolved litigation against Premera Blue Cross over the health insurer’s 2015 data breach that affected an estimated 11 million customers and employees. In a 58-page order, Judge Michael H. Simon said the proposed settlement is fair, considering that the proposed class members have “several strong arguments” regarding Premera’s allegedly inadequate data security measures. In addition to the cash settlement, Premera agreed to guarantee a minimum of $42 million in funding for its information security program over the next 3 years, and implement and/or maintain a number of specific changes to its information security practices.
"To go back to where Mr. Dubanevich started, I do think one of the most important things in a multidistrict litigation or a complex lawsuit of this sort is that all counsel on all sides not only vigorously represent their clients and respective interests but also act in the highest interest of professionalism of an attorney, and I think that all sides have acted impressively and admirably in this case."
Rob Shlachter and Josh Ross, together with California co-counsel, defended a large foreign software company in defense of a $250 million trade secret litigation in federal court.
Rob Shlachter, Tim DeJong, and Lydia Anderson-Dana, together with California co-counsel, defended a labor union sued for alleged unfair labor practices at the Port of Portland.
Stoll Berne shareholders Keith Dubanevich and Josh Ross, together with Portland attorney Diane Sykes, recently represented the Oregon State Bar in an action against a Florida lawyer and his associates who targeted Oregon immigrants. The Florida lawyer aggressively advertised on Spanish-language radio and television to draw potential clients to “immigration clinics,” at which the attendees were promised to meet a lawyer who could help with immigration status. Victims of the scheme reported that they rarely, and in many instances never, saw or spoke to a licensed lawyer at the clinics and that often non-lawyer “paralegals” conducted intakes, negotiated fee agreements, and gave substantive advice regarding immigration issues. Victims paid significant fees based on the representations that the Florida lawyer’s firm would file immigration papers and secure the victims’ rights. In virtually all cases little to no work was performed for the victims, whose complaints and demands for refunds went unanswered. Stoll Berne and Diane Sykes filed the lawsuit to stop the unauthorized practice of law. On December 7, 2018, a Multnomah County Judge signed a General Judgment by Default in favor of the Oregon State Bar, including a Money Award in excess of $150,000—the largest judgment ever in an unauthorized practice of law case brought by the Oregon State Bar.
Cody Berne and Josh Ross represented Southern Oregon investors who were seeking to recover their investments in a privately held consumer products company. Our investigation, including a shareholder records inspection, uncovered evidence of fraud and mismanagement. The case resolved while our clients’ request for additional corporate records was pending.
Cody Berne recovered retirement savings on behalf of an individual investor from an out of state real estate investment fund. The fund had violated the Oregon securities laws in selling membership interests and wrongfully withheld the investor’s funds in violation of Oregon’s financial elder abuse laws.
Keith Dubanevich and Jen Wagner successfully represented a tenant in a delivery delay case for a local healthcare center.
