Dismissal upheld in Ashland suit vs. Oppenheimer
Headline News
A Kentucky-based chemical company cannot prove that its investment broker knew in advance that a securities market would collapse in early 2008, leaving the company with $194 million in investments that couldn't easily be sold, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Ashland Inc. couldn't show that New York-based Oppenheimer & Co. lured the company into continuing to buy auction rate securities while hiding knowledge about an impending market implosion.
"At best, the alleged facts suggests that a few Oppenheimer employees were aware of what might happen if the underwriters left the ARS market, a seemingly remote risk, given its past stability," Judge Deborah Cook wrote for the unanimous panel.
The decision upholds a ruling in 2010 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman rejecting Ashland's claims. Ashland sued Oppenheimer in 2009, accusing the brokerage firm of providing intentionally misleading information about the market for student loan-backed auction rate securities up until the market went under in February 2008.
Auction rate securities are long-term bonds with interest rates periodically reset through recurring auctions, which are commonly held between on a schedule ranging from seven to 35 days. Investors can sell their securities at each auction, provided buyers outnumber sellers. If there are more sellers than buyers, an auction fails, potentially leaving sellers holding the securities.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.