Cowsar v. Regional Recreations, Inc.

65 F.R.D. 394
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Louisiana
DecidedDecember 11, 1974
DocketCiv. A. No. 73-269
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 65 F.R.D. 394 (Cowsar v. Regional Recreations, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cowsar v. Regional Recreations, Inc., 65 F.R.D. 394 (M.D. La. 1974).

Opinion

E. GORDON WEST, District Judge:

This action grows out of alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77a et seq., and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78a et seq. Eighteen motions were filed on behalf of nine defendants. Each defendant filed a motion for a more definite statement and a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. In view of the disposition of the motions to dismiss, all of the motions for more definite statement were denied. Plaintiffs’ complaint contains six counts, the first three of which allege violations of federal law and the last three of which allege state law violations. The motions filed pertain only to the first three counts.

COUNT I

Count I alleged violations of Sec. 5(a) and (c) of the Act [15 U.S.C. § 77e(a) & (c)] and of Sec. 12(1) & (2) of the Act [15 U.S.C. § 111 (1) & (2)]. The motions to dismiss the claims under this count were predicated on the fact that the plaintiffs’ complaint failed to set forth the dates upon which the defendants allegedly violated the statutes. Since affirmative allegations of dates of violation are made necessary by Sec. 13 of the Act, [15 U.S.C. § 77m], and since that requirement has been held to be substantive, Newberg v. American Dryer Corp., 195 F.Supp. 345 (E.D.Pa.1961); Premier Industries, Inc. v. Delaware Valley Financial Corp., 185 F.Supp. 694 (E.D.Pa.1960); Fischman v. Raytheon Mfg. Co., 9 F.R.D. 707 (D.C.N.Y.1949), the Court allowed the plaintiff thirty days within which to amend or supplement his complaint. The amending and supplemental complaint affirmatively alleges that all sales and issuance of stock involved took place between December, 1966 and May, 1967. Suit was not filed until September 4, 1973. Plaintiffs then allege that “defendants fraudulently concealed their misconduct, misrepresentations and intentions from the plaintiffs” and that plaintiffs “did not have notice of defendants’ misconduct, misrepresentations and concealment until February 9, 1973.” The nature of the alleged fraudulent concealment was not set forth, nor was there any allegation that the exercise of due diligence would not have revealed the alleged fraudulent concealment prior to February 9, 1973. Defendants now contend that their motion to dismiss Count I should be granted for failure of the plaintiff to file this claim within the time allowed by law. Sec. 13 of the Securities Act of 1933 [15 U.S.C. § 77m] provides:

“No action shall be maintained to enforce any liability created under section 77k or 111(2) of this title unless brought within one year after the discovery of the untrue statement or the omission, or after such discovery should have been made by the exercise of reasonable diligence, or, if the action is to enforce a liability created under section 772(1) of this title, unless brought within one year after the violation upon which it is based. In no event shall any such action be brought to enforce a liability created under section 77k or 772(1) of this title more than three years after the security was bona fide offered to the public, or under section 772(2) of this title more than three years after the sale.”

According to plaintiffs’ allegations, the last sale of securities here involved was made in May of 1967. Suit was filed in September of 1973. Clearly more than [397]*397three years elapsed between the last sale and the filing of this suit. Thus, under the clear and unambiguous terms of Sec. 13 of the Act [15 U.S.C. § 77ml, the plaintiffs’ suit, as it pertains to the allegations contained in Count I has prescribed and may not be pursued. The fact, that the plaintiffs contend that they did not discover the untrue statements and/or omissions until February of 1973 is immaterial. The statute is clear and unambiguous. Failure to discover, even with the exercise of due diligence, may interrupt the tolling of the one year period, see Dyer v. Eastern Trust & Banking Company, 336 F.Supp. 890 (D.C.Me.1971); Competitive Associates, Inc. v. Fantastic Fudge, Inc., 58 F.R.D. 121 (S.D.N.Y.1973), but no case could be found which holds that the allegations of fraudulent concealment, even if properly made, will toll the running of the three year period of limitation contained in Sec. 77m. The three year period is absolute and it runs from the date of the last sale. The Court is not unmindful of the statement contained in Dyer, supra, to the effect that:

“Applying federal law, it is evident that as the decided cases have consistently held, the remedial purpose of the federal securities laws is best served by making the two-year limitation period begin to run, not on the date of the contract of sale, but on the date the alleged untruth or omission is or should have been discovered.” 336 F. Supp. at 906,

nor is it unmindful of the holding of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Sargent v. Genesco, Inc., 492 F.2d 750 (CA 5-1974) that:

“ * * * our court-fashioned rule is that a 10b-5 claim accrues when the plaintiff actually discovers the alleged fraud.” At p. 758.

The simple fact is that both of those cases were dealing with sections of the Securities Act that provided no specific statute of limitations. In such instances, the applicable limitation statute is that of the forum state. Sackett v. Beaman, 399 F.2d 884 (CA 9-1968); Dyer v. Eastern Trust & Banking Co., supra. In such cases the federal courts have decided that while the actual limitation period provided for in state law must be applied, the time of the commencement of the running of that time should be governed by federal law. Hence the courts have legislatively determined that the state period of limitation begins to run at the time of discovery of the alleged untrue statements or omissions or at the time they should have been discovered by the exercise of due diligence. But the court does not have this latitude for judicial legislation.where the federal law itself specifically provides for the time within which the suit must be filed. Title 15 U.S.C. § 77m specifically provides that claims brought under Secs. 5(a) and (c) of the Act [15 U.S.C. § 77e(a) & (c)], and Sec. 12(1) and (2) [15 U.S.C. § 771

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Bluebook (online)
65 F.R.D. 394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cowsar-v-regional-recreations-inc-lamd-1974.