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Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act: Has Congress Supplied a Limitations Period Appropriate for Use in Private 10b-5 Actions?

NCJ Number
132549
Journal
Washington and Lee Law Review Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1990) Pages: 541-585
Author(s)
D J Guin; D R Donaldson
Date Published
1990
Length
45 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Supreme Court should adopt a 5-year limitation period for implied rights of civil action under rule 10b- and section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, because this limitations period has been adopted by the Federal government under the Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988.
Abstract
No Federal statute of limitations is expressly applicable to such actions. As a result, courts have adopted State limitation periods. However, this approach has resulted in uncertainty, unpredictability, and a lack of uniformity. In the past, the varying Federal periods specified under the 1933 and 1934 Securities Exchange laws made it appropriate to consider the limitations specified in State laws. However, the recently adopted Federal limitation period is more analogous to rule 10b-5 situations than is any other State or Federal period. The 5-year period also balances plaintiffs' needs for sufficient time to discover violations of rule 10b-5 with defendants' desire for repose. Footnotes