Legal Question in Business Law in Delaware

Re: inaccurate SEC filings

It depends on what form you are referring to, most likely yes. Other then specific statutory damages though, you generally need to have an investor who relied on said reporting and recieved monetary losses because of the false reporting. This requires some accounting, but basically said investor would have to buy at a higher price then they sold.

Re: inaccurate SEC filings

First, your question probably falls under Federal law as much, or more, as it falls under the laws of Delaware, which I assume is the state of incorporation. Therefore, I think the question is fair game for a California lawyer admitted to practice before the Federal Courts of California, as I am.

Knowingly filing a false SEC form is a crime. The firm that filed it and the officers responsible for causing or allowing it to be filed will be liable for criminal prosecution, fines and possible imprisonment.

In addition, there is usually, but not always, a private right of action by an injured party or parties. Generally, a private plaintiff has a fairly substantial pleading and proof hurdle to establish not only the fraud itself but that this particular plaintiff relied upon the false filing, that the reliance was reasonable, and the plaintiff's damages resulted from all of that.

Under a so-called "private attorney general" concept, a successful plaintiff may also get attorneys' fees awarded. The theory is that the expenditure was not only for the plaintiff's own benefit, but also for the benefit of the public as a whole, or for others similarly situated.

I think the bottom line is that money damages to a private plaintiff are dependent upon provable injury to that plaintiff as a result of the fraud, and the suit and the proof will be expensive and there is no assurance of winning; slam-dunk securities fraud cases are unusual.

Re: inaccurate SEC filings

If you have been defrauded somehow by false filings, you could have a suit for damages due to the fraud. If so, please contact me to discuss the facts.