Ed Plaut, et Ux., et al. v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., et al. (514 U.S. 211)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 18, 1995 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 514 U.S. 211 · 115 S. Ct. 1447
- Decided
- April 18, 1995
- Term
- October Term 1994
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Miscellaneous
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Unspecifiable
- Constitutional ruling
- Federal law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented in this case is whether § 27A(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent that it requires federal courts to reopen final judgments in private civil actions under § 10(b) of the Act, contravenes the Constitution’s separation of powers or the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. I In 1987, petitioners brought a civil action against respondents in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The complaint alleged that in 1983 and 1984 respondents had committed fraud and deceit in the sale of stock in violation of § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The case was mired in pretrial proceedings in the District Court until June 20, 1991, when we decided Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson, 501 U. S. 350. Lampf held that “[litigation instituted pursuant to § 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 . . . must be commenced within one year after the discovery of the facts constituting the violation and within three years after such violation.” Id., at 364. We applied that holding to the plaintiff-respondents in Lampf itself, found their suit untimely, and reinstated a summary judgment previously entered in favor of the defendant-petitioners. Ibid. On the same day we decided James B. Beam Distilling Co.…
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