TThis momentous decision by the US Supreme Court means that companies and shareholders can sue Wall St. firms at the state level and not be overruled by the Federal Courts. The RICO statutes can be applied on a state by state basis. It will ONLY TAKE 1 WIN in any state to set precedent that Wall St. conspires to defraud the investing public by shorting stock without locating or borrowing the shares. Once that case is won it will open the floodgates for thousands of lawsuits that could potentially put an end to the practice of naked short selling! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BREAKING: High Court Says Federal Securities Laws Don’t Limit State Suits Share us on: By Carmen Germaine Law360, New York (May 16, 2016, 10:11 AM ET) -- The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that federal securities laws do not preempt certain claims from being brought in state court, in a decision that allows a shareholder suit against a Merrill Lynch unit and other Wall Street firms to proceed in New Jersey state court on claims they engaged in a manipulative short-selling campaign against them. Voting unanimously, the justices said the Securities Exchange Act does not block shareholders in Escala Group Inc. from bringing their claims in a New Jersey court under the state's securities and anti-racketeering laws. The decision upholds a Third Circuit ruling that remanded the claim back to the Garden State. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the opinion for the majority. Justice Clarence Thomas authored a concurring opinion, which was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The decision in Merrill Lynch et al. v. Manning et al., will give plaintiffs an easier time bringing securities suits in state courts, a potentially friendlier forum than federal court. It came to the Supreme Court on an appeal from the Third Circuit, which held that Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. and others couldn’t keep the shareholder suit in federal court even though it references rules the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission put in place around short selling stocks. The underlying lawsuit alleges Merrill Lynch and others about a decade ago had manipulated the market for Escala shares through a naked short-selling campaign. As part of their suit, the plaintiffs referenced the requirements of Regulation SHO, the SEC rules governing short selling. In their petition to the Supreme Court, the financial firms argued that Section 27 of the Securities Exchange Act gives federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over all suits that seek to enforce any duty created by the act or its regulations, even if the suit is also brought to enforce state law. They asked the court to resolve a circuit split on the issue. But the plaintiffs countered that their suit is perfectly placed in New Jersey state court because at its core is a claim about manipulative and deceptive practices, “the kind of behavior that has been long prohibited under New Jersey common law and statutes.” The investors are represented by Peter K. Stris, Brendan S. Maher, Daniel L. Geyser, Dana Berkowitz and Victor O’Connell of Stris & Maher LLP, Radha A. Pathak of Whittier Law School, Shaun P. Martin of the University of San Diego School of Law, Neal H. Flaster of the Law Offices of Neal H. Flaster and John A. Schepisi and Gregory M. Dexter of Schepisi & McLaughlin PA. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. is represented by Thomas R. Curtin of Graham Curtin PA and Brad M. Elias, Andrew J. Frackman, Abby F. Rudzin, Walter Dellinger and Jonathan D. Hacker of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Knight Capital Americas LP is represented by James H. Bilton, Edwin R. DeYoung and W. Scott Hastings of Locke Lord LLP. UBS Securities LLC is represented by Andrew B. Clubok and Beth A. Williams of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and William H. Trousdale and Brian M. English of Tompkins McGuire Wachenfeld & Barry LLP. National Financial Services LLC is represented by Michael G. Shannon of Thompson Hine LLP. Citadel Derivatives Group LLC is represented by Stephen J. Senderowitz, Steven L. Merouse and Jonathan S. Jemison of Dentons. E-Trade Capital Markets is represented by Kurt A. Kappes and David E. Sellinger of Greenberg Traurig LLP. The case is Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. et al. v. Manning et al., case number 14-1132, in the Supreme Court of the United States. --Editing by Patricia K. Cole.