U.S. Supreme Court Watch: Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta

Stoneridge wasn't like the Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. This one came down as expected. It was another important business win at the Supreme Court, in perhaps the most important securities case in decades. Major players had filled the amicus lineups on both sides--business groups, former SEC commissioners, state attorneys general, politicians, professors, and private securities counsel. What was the case all about? Plaintiffs had been investors in Charter Communications, Inc., a now defunct TV cable service provider. To recoup their losses, they had brought a class action against company vendors, participants in Charter's scheme to defraud the stockholders. Plaintiffs contended that securities law allowed that private action. They argued that their remedy was not limited to what the government might or might not do to help them.