Greenberg Traurig Immune in Stanford Ponzi Scheme Class Action, 5th Circuit Rules
Investors had sought to hold Greenberg responsible for Loumiet's work as primary outside counsel for Stanford.
Greenberg Traurig. (Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM)
Investors who lost billions of dollars after purchasing certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank Ltd. had sought to hold Greenberg Traurig responsible for Carlos Loumiet’s work as primary outside counsel for Stanford until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut operations down in 2009. Loumiet no longer practices at Greenberg Traurig.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that said the investors were stymied by a doctrine of attorney immunity in Texas law.
“This appeal concerns three purported exceptions to that doctrine,” Judge Leslie Southwick said in the 10-page opinion. “The district court held that none of them exists.”
Fort Lauderdale-based Boies Schiller Flexner partner Stuart Singer argued the appeal for Greenberg Traurig. Singer praised the appeals court and Judge David Godbey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in a statement.
