David Lerner Associates (DLA), the broker-dealer that regulators have accused of duping elderly investors, has finished off most of a related securities class action brought by Girard Gibbs.
In a decision issued on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that DLA didn’t violate federal securities laws in connection with the sale of five real estate investment trusts, known as the Apple REITs, with a combined value of $6.8 billion. Affirming an April 2013 decision by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, the appeals court held that Girard Gibbs’ lead plaintiffs couldn’t point to any actionable misstatements by DLA.
