5.4.2010
Partial Settlements Under Oregon Securities Law
The civil liability provisions of the Oregon Securities Law, ORS 59.115 and ORS 59.137, provide for joint and several liability among the various potentially liable parties — sellers; control persons; persons who “participate and materially aid” in the sale; and others — coupled with a right of contribution among those parties. So, in theory, successful plaintiffs can collect their entire judgment from one of these jointly and severally liable parties — likely the one with the deepest pockets, not necessarily the primary violator — and that party can then seek contribution of some share of that judgment from the other liable parties.
This article first appeared in the Law 360.