United States First Circuit

Dismissal of an action by a bankruptcy trustee to recover damages based in the legal rights of a company that entered into a merger with another company upon that company's financial misrepresentations is affirmed where the wrongdoing of the second company was, as a matter of law, imputed to the surviving entity in the merger, thus the doctrine of in pari delicto bars the suit.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/08/2006
• Published 11/08/2006

Judges

• SELYA, Circuit Judge., Before SELYA, LIPEZ and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Max Folkenflik and Regina Griffin, with whom Folkenflik & McGerity, Brauner Baron Rosenzweig & Klein, Karen D. Hurvitz, and Law Offices of Karen D. Hurvitz were on brief, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• George A. Zimmerman, with whom Matthew J. Matule and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP were on brief, for appellee SG Cowen and Company, LLC., Janet B. Fierman, with whom Thomas W. Evans, Robert M. Cohen, and Cohen & Fierman, LLP were on brief, for appellee Mercator Assurances, S.A., Robert J. Kaler, with whom Eric Neyman and Gadsby Hannah LLP were on brief, for appellees Flanders Language Valley Fund et al., Michael P. Carroll, with whom Michael S. Flynn, Sean C. Knowles, Phineas E. Leahey, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Kevin J. Lesinski, William J. Hanlon, Kristin G. McGurn, and Seyfarth Shaw LLP were on brief, for appellee KPMG LLP., Thomas J. Gallitano, Conn, Kavanagh, Rosenthal Peisch & Ford LLP, John B. Missing, Ada Fernandez Johnson, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP on brief for appellee GIMV, N.V., Michael J. Stone, Peabody & Arnold LLP, George A. Salter, Nicholas W.C. Corson, and Hogan & Hartson LLP on brief for appellee Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler Bedrijfsrevisoren., Robert P. Trout, John Thorpe Richards, Jr. and Trout Cacheris, PLLC on brief for appellee Lessius Management Consulting, N.V., Andrew Good, Good & Cormier, Roger E. Zuckerman, Steven M. Salky, P. Andrew Torrez, and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on brief for appellee Louis-H.   Verbeke.