ISRAELS & NEUMAN – Vermont Securities Attorneys
Sections 5501 and 5509 of the Vermont Securities Act.
Israels & Neuman are securities arbitration and investment fraud attorneys that represent Vermont residents who have been wronged by their stockbrokers and brokerage firms. Our law firm represents investors in all 50 states, including investors in Vermont.
The residents of Vermont are protected by the provisions of the Vermont Securities Act. This Act provides for the regulation of the sale of securities to Vermont residents and to Vermont financial advisors and stockbrokers. Additionally, the Vermont Securities Division, with offices in Montpelier, was created to help enforce the provisions of the Vermont Securities Act.
Section 5501 of the Vermont Securities Act provides for liability if a financial advisor or investment advisor misrepresents the risks of an investment to you. In particular, this statute provides that:
- 5501. General fraud
It is unlawful for a person, in connection with the offer to sell, the offer to purchase, the sale, or the purchase of a security, directly or indirectly:
(1) to employ a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(2) to make an untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or
(3) to engage in an act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon another person.
See Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 5501. The Vermont Securities Act further provides civil remedies in the event that the Act is violated:
- 5509. Civil liability
(a) Enforcement of civil liability under this section is subject to the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998.
(b) A person is liable to the purchaser if the person sells a security in violation of sections 5301, 5501, or 5502 of this chapter, the purchaser not knowing the untruth or omission or deceptive nature of the conduct and the seller not sustaining the burden of proof that the seller did not know and, in the exercise of reasonable care, could not have known of the untruth or omission or deceptive nature of the conduct. An action under this subsection is governed by the following:
(1) The purchaser may maintain an action to recover the consideration paid for the security, less the amount of any income received on the security, and interest at the legal rate of interest from the date of the purchase, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees determined by the court, upon the tender of the security, or for actual damages as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(2) The tender referred to in subdivision (1) of this subsection may be made any time before entry of judgment. Tender requires only notice in a record of ownership of the security and willingness to exchange the security for the amount specified. A purchaser that no longer owns the security may recover actual damages as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(3) Actual damages in an action arising under this subsection are the amount that would be recoverable upon a tender less the value of the security when the purchaser disposed of it, and interest at the legal rate of interest from the date of the purchase, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees determined by the court.
See Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 5509.
If your financial advisor or stockbroker makes misrepresentations to you when selling securities, he or she may be liable for your losses. In addition, the brokerage firm that your advisor works for may also be liable.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities arbitration and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado and the Seattle area. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration and securities arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including representing investors throughout New England and Vermont, including Burlington, Bennington, Rutland City, Colchester, South Burlington, Hartford, Brattleboro, Montpelier, and others. Our securities attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past.
Click to view: Vermont Securities Act
Click to view: Vermont Securities Act Anti-Fraud Provisions
Click to view: Vermont Securities Act Civil Remedies
If you are a resident of Vermont and have lost money with your financial advisor or investment advisor, please CONTACT ISRAELS & NEUMAN at 206-795-5798 for a free evaluation of your case.