Goldstein v. Regal Crest, Inc.

62 F.R.D. 571, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 723, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9320
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 26, 1974
DocketCiv. A. No. 70-2910
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 62 F.R.D. 571 (Goldstein v. Regal Crest, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goldstein v. Regal Crest, Inc., 62 F.R.D. 571, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 723, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9320 (E.D. Pa. 1974).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

HUYETT, District Judge.

The complaint in this action is in six counts. Each count alleges a cause of action arising out of an alleged scheme to defraud the plaintiffs in the sale of stock of International Resources Incorporated (IRI). Count 1 alleges a cause of action under § 12(2) in that the defendants are alleged to have sold securities of IRI by means of a prospectus containing untrue and misleading material statements and in omitting to state material facts. Count II alleges a scheme to defraud the plaintiffs in violation of § 17(a)(1), (2) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)(l), (2) and (3). Count III alleges fraud in connection with the purchase and sale of IRI stock and in connection with the merger of IRI with Regal Crest in violation of the Securities Exchange Commission’s Rule 10b-5, promulgated under § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b). Count IV alleges a violation of SEC Rule 10b-6 arising out of the defendants’ alleged conduct during the distribution of IRI stock. Count V alleges the sale of unregistered securities in violation of § 12(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77J(1). Finally, Count VI alleges a cause of action under common law fraud, neglect, breach of trust, mismanagement, malfeasance and nonfeasance.

Defendant Fahnestock & Co. has moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) (6) to dismiss the cause of action under Rule 10b-6 (Count IV) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and has moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(b) for summary judgment as to the claim under Rule 10b-5 arising out of the merger of IRI and Regal Crest. The Rule 10b-5 merger claim and the Rule 10b-6 claim are the only claims we have permitted to go forward as a class action. Goldstein Regal Crest, 59 F.R.D. 396 (E.D.Pa. 1973). In the wake of our ruling disallowing class action treatment under the remaining counts of the complaint, various persons have moved to intervene as plaintiffs. We deal first with defendant Fahnestock’s motion to dismiss and for summary judgment.

I. The Alleged Fraudulent Scheme

Plaintiffs allege a complicated scheme engaged in by defendants to defraud persons who purchased the stock of International Resources, Inc. (IRI) from salesmen in the Bethlehem office of Fahnestock & Co. (Fahnestock).1 Plaintiff’s claim that the stock was sold to the general public without the registration statement required by Section 5 of [573]*573the 1933 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77e, although the sale did not qualify for the exemption in Section 3(a)(11) of the 1933 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77c(a) (11), and the number of purchasers exceeded the twenty-five permitted in Pennsylvania law for an intrastate offering, Section 2(f) (10) of the Pennsylvania Securities Act, Pa.Stat.Ann. tit. 70, § 32(f) (10). The scheme involved the use of escrow agreements which salesmen gave to purchasers to evidence the sale of the stock without requiring the transfer of stock until after the proper registration had been made.2 Plaintiffs allege that in attempting to persuade them and members of the public to purchase this stock, the salesmen employed in the Fahnestock office and controlled by the defendants in this action used misrepresentations and omissions of material facts. These included misrepresentations of the prospects of the stock and the interest of Bethlemen Steel Co. and United States Steel Co. in purchasing IRI, and the failure to disclose certain material facts concerning stock-splits, stock options, registration difficulties and other significant matters.

Plaintiffs also complain that after the sales had been made defendants continued to misinform them in order to prevent them from bringing a lawsuit similar to this one. They charge that defendants issued a false prospectus in September, 1969, which did not list them as shareholders, in order to deceive them into believing that the stock would eventually go public. They also allege that defendants made misrepresentations in February, 1970 concerning a redemption fund in order to prevent plaintiffs and others from filing an action.

In June, 1970, IRI merged with Regal Crest. Plaintiffs assert that they were never notified of the impending merger nor were they given the opportunity to vote on it. The only information they received was from a newspaper release which contained false data about the merger.

II. Rule 10b-6 Claim

With respect to the Rule 10b-6 claim, plaintiffs allege that defendants Pruso, Baron and Young were the issuers of IRI stock; Fahnestock, Lawson, Fahnestock’s general manager in its Bethlehem office, and its various employees were borkers and dealers participating in the distribution of IRI stock. Pruso is alleged to have delivered 55,000 shares of IRI stock to Ronald Hoffman, a trainee in Fahnestock’s Bethlehem office. With the knowledge and consent of Lawson, Hoffman' along with other Fahnestock employees, sold 55,000 shares of stock knowing that the stock was unregistered. The complaint states: “All the defendants conspired to make a market in the stock in the City of Bethlehem and had knowledge of sales being conducted actively to the public in general and to the plaintiffs in particular.” [¶ 15(c)] Fahnestock contends that these factual allegations fail to raise a claim under Rule 10b-6. We agree.

Rule 10b-6 is one of three SEC rules governing the activities of persons interested in a distribution of securities and of rights to purchase securities.3 The [574]*574rules represent a careful balance between the interests of the investing public in being free from manipulative devices which tend to artificially affect the price at which a security is being offered and the interests of corporate financiers whose distribution of securities, by a sudden increase in the supply of securities in the market, tends to cause a decrease in the price of the security being offered not reflective of the true market value.4 Efforts made by persons interested in a distribution to prevent a decline in the open market price of the security being distributed are referred to as stabilizing activities. These stabilizing activities generally consist of the bidding for or the purchase of the securities being distributed by persons involved in the distribution for the purpose of “pegging” or “fixing” the price of the security.5 Stabilizing activities not performed in accordance with Rules 10b-6, 10b-7 and 10b-8 constitute an unlawful manipulative device violative of §§ 9(a)(6) (when performed on an exchange) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78i(a)(6) and

Related

Arivella v. Lucent Technologies, Inc.
623 F. Supp. 2d 164 (D. Massachusetts, 2009)
United States v. Newman
74 F. App'x 126 (Second Circuit, 2003)
Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co.
751 P.2d 923 (California Supreme Court, 1988)
Caldwell v. A.H. Robins Co.
577 F. Supp. 796 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1984)
Rose v. Arkansas Valley Environmental & Utility Authority
562 F. Supp. 1180 (W.D. Missouri, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 F.R.D. 571, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 723, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9320, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goldstein-v-regal-crest-inc-paed-1974.