Jurisdictional Defenses under the Securities Act

Summary

This practice note discusses jurisdictional defenses to civil securities cases that private plaintiffs may bring under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act). It reviews subject matter and personal jurisdiction defenses available to defendants, including aspects unique to Securities Act claims. In particular, this note addresses two recent Supreme Court rulings that are critical to understanding subject matter jurisdictional defenses: Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver Cty. Emp.’s Ret. Fund., 138 S. Ct. 1061 (2018) (relating to exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction of Securities Act class actions between federal and state courts) and Morrison v. Nat'l Austl. Bank Ltd., 561 U.S. 247, 130 S. Ct. 2869 (2010) (relating to the scope of extraterritorial jurisdiction for claims under the securities laws).