ISRAELS & NEUMAN, PLC – Oregon Securities Attorneys

Section 135 of the Oregon Securities Law

Israels & Neuman are securities arbitration and investment fraud attorneys that represent Oregon residents who have been wronged by their stockbrokers and brokerage firms.  Our attorneys have previously represented investors from the Portland, Oregon area, and we also have offices in the Seattle area.

Oregon residents are protected by the provisions of the Oregon Securities Law.  This Law provides for the regulation of the sale of securities to Oregon residents and to Oregon financial advisors and stockbrokers.  Additionally, the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, with offices in Salem, was created to help enforce the provisions of the Oregon Securities Law.

Section 135 of the Oregon Securities Law provides for liability if a financial advisor, stockbroker, or investment advisor misrepresents the risks of an investment to you.  In particular, this statute provides that:

Fraud and deceit with respect to securities or securities business

It is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security or the conduct of a securities business or for any person who receives any consideration from another person primarily for advising the other person as to the value of securities or their purchase or sale, whether through the issuance of analyses or reports or otherwise:

(1) To employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud;

(2) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;

(3) To engage in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person; or

(4) To make or file, or cause to be made or filed, to or with the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services any statement, report or document which is known to be false in any material respect or matter.

See Or. Rev. Stat. § 59.135.  The Oregon Securities Law further provides civil remedies in the event that the Act is violated:

Liability in connection with sale or successful solicitation of sale of securities; recovery by purchaser; limitations on proceeding; attorney fees.

(1) A person is liable as provided in subsection (2) of this section to a purchaser of a security if the person:

(a) Sells or successfully solicits the sale of a security, other than a federal covered security, in violation of the Oregon Securities Law or of any condition, limitation or restriction imposed upon a registration or license under the Oregon Securities Law; or

(b) Sells or successfully solicits the sale of a security in violation of ORS 59.135 (1) or (3) or by means of an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading (the buyer not knowing of the untruth or omission), and who does not sustain the burden of proof that the person did not know, and in the exercise of reasonable care could not have known, of the untruth or omission.

(2) The purchaser may recover:

(a) Upon tender of the security, the consideration paid for the security, and interest from the date of payment equal to the greater of the rate of interest specified in ORS 82.010 for judgments for the payment of money or the rate provided in the security if the security is an interest-bearing obligation, less any amount received on the security; or

(b) If the purchaser no longer owns the security, damages in the amount that would be recoverable upon a tender, less the value of the security when the purchaser disposed of it and less interest on such value at the rate of interest specified in ORS 82.010 for judgments for the payment of money from the date of disposition.

See Or. Rev. Stat. § 59.115.

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, Portland, Ann Arbor, and the Seattle area.  We represent investors in FINRA arbitration and securities arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including representing investors previously throughout Oregon, and in Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Bend, Medford, Springfield, and Corvallis. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past, including LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, UBS Financial Services, Oppenheimer, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ameriprise Financial Services, Raymond James, ProEquities, Securities America, National Securities Corp., and many others.

If you are a resident of Oregon 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.