I would like to sue the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or the New York Stock Exchange for allowing illegal naked short selling of my IRA account stock from over $ 70 to its present one dollar and change, and then it was moved off of the NYSE without requirement that the 100% of the stock that was sold short, be covered. Someone told me to forget suing the SEC. True? Why?
Optional Information: San Francisco, CaliforniaAlready Tried: Emailed complaints to the SEC answered by staff saying it would be looked at but never an action taken save for the repeal of the grandfathering of some previously shorted shares thanks to idiotic rulings of the SEC. I am one of approx 40 major shareholders presently suing several major Wall Street Brokerages, in Superior Court in San Francisco. Case progress has been long and slow but it is now in 'discovery'. Case No. CBC-6-453422, Avenius et al v. Bank of America
DearCustomer
It is not impossible to sue the SEC. SEC suits have been successfully achieved in the past. so it is not absolutely true to forget suing the SEC.
Here is one successful law suit that named the SEC as a defendent:
http://registeredrep.com/news/SEC_Broker_Dealer_Exemption/
but note that it took 3 years.
Because the SEC is the regulatory agency, who it self has a purpose of enforcement and litigating against violators, it becomes a large empediment for an individual to bring lawsuits against them.
It would be 95% impossible to successfully litigate this yourself, so you would need an attorney who is heavily resourced, as it will be expensive to proceed and maintain the law suit, until you are able to win. A law suit against this agency will take years, and be very expensive.
Finding an attorney will be hard, unless you have a strong case that promises a return on the attorney's or the lawfirms time; such that they can take it on contingency.
You can add the SEC to the lawsuits currently in progress as co defendents. But that may be a tactical error, because the SEC is an ominous defendent; and when you add them, you now bring a co-defendent to the table with the brokerages, and will make overall litigation of those cases harder, because now the defence would be resourced in part by the SEC.
Experience: GPHR cer BS, U.S.C. Pueblo; Immigration Law by Am. Mngmnt Association & USCIS Bus. Liaison ofc 1999
Mr. Johnson, Ok I see what youre saying. It is theoretically possible but, possibly, a grave tactical error and worst, expensive. The scenario which you described is exactly what is happening, in terms of suing the major brokers that is. The case was taken on only at 50% contingency and the attorney is very deep pocketed having won major suits vs. tobacco and breast implant defendants. If not for the deep pocketed attorney, then no case, no matter how egregious the violations committed by a public commission. Thank you very much, Sir! PM SF CA
Thank you for your comments. Best of luck to you.
I once proposed a change to the law allowing all lawsuits against government agencies to be at no cost. You know how far that got. The response I received from a senator was: the cost of litigation is a deterant to frivalous and marginal law suits.