On April 4, 2016, Stoll Berne received permission from the U.S. District Court (Oregon) to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of Aequitas investors against two accounting firms and two law firms for violations of the Oregon Securities Law.
In a related enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Oregon federal court entered an order prohibiting the filing of lawsuits against Aequitas, its officers and directors, and its professional firms. Stoll Berne is the first and only law firm to date to receive court permission to file a lawsuit against the professional firms. Aequitas recently announced a stunning collapse, threatening the loss of hundreds of millions of investor dollars and leading to an extensive investigation by Stoll Berne. Stoll Berne discovered that Aequitas failed to disclose material facts, and misrepresented other facts, in connection with the sales of its securities. The lawsuit alleges that, by aiding Aequitas’ unlawful sales, Aequitas’ auditors (Deloitte and EisnerAmper) and law firms (Tonkon Torp and Sidley & Austin) are jointly liable to the same extent as Aequitas.
A copy of the filed class action Complaint detailing the claims is available here. Stoll Berne shareholders Keith Ketterling and Timothy DeJong, together with Stoll Berne attorneys Jacob Gill and Nadia Dahab, are representing the investors in this case.
