Bennett Funding Group, Inc. : Notes, Bonds, Units, Lease Assignments, and Other Securities

Company and Case Information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION | INDEX OF FILINGS | SEARCH

Home

Index of Filings

News and Press Releases

Filings

Decisions

Settlements

Litigation Activity Indices

Top Ten List

Annual/Quarterly Updates

Clearinghouse Research

Articles & Papers

Search

Related Sites

About Us

Local Rules

Sponsors

Register

_______________
Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

Bennett Funding Group, Inc. : Notes, Bonds, Units, Lease Assignments, and Other Securities Conclusion: According to an article dated September 27, 2006, a federal appeals court has ruled that two prominent New York plaintiffs' firms are not liable to former clients for failing to sue accounting firm Arthur Andersen in a securities fraud suit stemming from the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history Kirby, McInerney & Squire and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman were co-lead counsel in a 1997 class action against the Bennett Funding Group (BFG), a Syracuse-based outfit that sold investors $570 million worth of fraudulent securities. Arthur Andersen, which served as BFG's auditor in 1989 and 1990, was not named as a defendant. BFG's insurer settled the suit in 1998 for $125 million, and Mahoney Cohen & Co., which succeeded Andersen as the group's auditor, paid another $14 million. But in 2002, Kirby McInerney and Bernstein Litowitz themselves became targets of a class action that charged the two firms committed legal malpractice by failing to sue Arthur Andersen. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday in Achtman v. Kirby McInerney, 04-cv-5473, that the two firms 'acted reasonably in not suing Andersen.' In a decision by Judge Joseph M. McLaughlin on behalf of a unanimous panel that also included Judges Richard J. Cardamone and Rosemary S. Pooler, the appeals court said the firms had had legitimate reasons for not suing the accounting firm.

As summarized by the co-lead counsel’s website, this securities fraud class action, the largest Ponzi fraud in history, has been filed on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired hundreds of millions of dollars of unregistered securities from the Bennett Funding Group, Inc. in the form of equipment leases, promissory notes and certain other securities. Previous settlements of $125 million and $14 million with Generali Insurance and Mahoney Cohen (a Bennett auditor) respectively, have already been obtained and distributed by the Bennett bankruptcy estate.

In April, 1996 and thereafter, numerous class action complaints were filed in the United States District Courts against BFG, its employees and third parties, including FMS. Pursuant to an order dated August 1, 1996, those actions were consolidated into the Consolidated Action. A Consolidated Amended Complaint was filed on September 16, 1996. In the Consolidated Action, plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that FMS, by selling BFG Securities under circumstances that it knew of or should have known constituted an unlawful Ponzi scheme, engaged in and assisted BFG in perpetrating and maintaining the Ponzi scheme. On January 27, 1997, plaintiffs in the Consolidated Action (the “Class Plaintiffs”) filed a motion to certify it as a class action; the District Court granted that motion on April 29, 1997. Excluded from the Plaintiff Class are the defendants and members of their immediate families; any subsidiary or affiliate of the defendants; BFG, and its affiliates, subsidiaries, present and former officers and directors; the Trustee; and the legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns and affiliates of any such excluded person. Pursuant to order of the Court dated April 29, 1997 the Court approved certification of the Sub-Class against FMS.

The original Complaint charges that defendants violated state and federal law by, among other things, engaging in deceptive and wrongful practices and misrepresenting and/or omitting material information with respect to the business, financial condition and performance of BFG and its affiliates in connection with the sale of Bennett Securities to the public. Plaintiffs in this action seek to recover damages on behalf of persons who purchased Bennett Securities prior to March 28, 1996.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code:
Sector: Financial
Industry: Misc. Financial Services

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Bennett Funding Group, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	PRIVATE
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.bennett-funding.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Kronfeld, et al. v. Bennett, et al.

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 96-CV-2583
JUDGE NAME: Hon. John E. Sprizzo
DATE FILED: 04/11/1996	SOURCE: Complaint
CLASS PERIOD START: 01/01/1990	CLASS PERIOD END: 03/28/1996
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: First Consolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS IN THIS OR SIMILAR CASE:
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (San Diego, CA) 12544 High Bluff Drive, Suite 150, San Diego, CA, 92130 (voice) 858.793.0070, (fax) 858.793.0323, blbg@blbglaw.com Kirby McInerney & Squire LLP 830 Third Avenue 10th Floor, New York Ave, NY, 10022 (voice) 212.317.2300, (fax) , _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Complaint - Class Action
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 04/11/1996

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re Bennett Funding Group, Inc. Securities Litigation

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 96-CV-2583
JUDGE NAME: Hon. John E. Sprizzo
DATE FILED: 07/02/1998	SOURCE: Business Wires
CLASS PERIOD START: 01/01/1990	CLASS PERIOD END: 03/29/1996
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Third Amended
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (New York, NY) 1285 Avenue of the Americas, 33rd Floor, New York, NY, 10019 (voice) 212.554.1400, (fax) 212.554.1444, blbg@blbglaw.com Kirby McInerney & Squire LLP 830 Third Avenue 10th Floor, New York Ave, NY, 10022 (voice) 212.317.2300, (fax) , _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Brief of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amicus Curiae
Type: Brief		Date on the document: 02/14/1997
Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 09/06/2000
Notice Of Pendency Of Proposed Class Certification, Settlement Of Class Action, Application For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses And Settlement Hearing
Type: Settlement		Date on the document: 01/29/2003
Notice Of Proposed Partial Settlement Of Class Action And Settlement Hearing
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 01/29/2003
Notice Of Resolution Of Certain Class Action Claims
Type: Settlement		Date on the document: 01/29/2003
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 01/03/2007

OTHER DOCUMENTS
Memorandum-Decision, Findings Of Fact, Conclusions Of Law And Order
Case Name and/or Number: In Re Bennett Funding Group, Inc.
Type: Order		Date on the document: 05/22/2003
US District Court Civil Docket
Case Name and/or Number: In Re Bennett Funding Group, Inc. Securities Litigation
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 06/19/2003
Memorandum-Decision, Findings Of Fact, Conclusions Of Law And Order
Case Name and/or Number: In Re Bennett Funding Group, Inc.
Type: Order		Date on the document: 04/12/2004

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY:
The information included on this Web site, whether provided by personnel employed by Stanford Law School or by third parties, is provided for research and teaching purposes only. Neither Stanford University, Stanford Law School, nor any of their employees, agents, contractors, or affiliates warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or analyses displayed herein, and we caution all readers that inclusion of any information on this site does not constitute an endorsement of the truthfulness or accuracy of that information. In particular, this Web site contains complaints and other documents filed in federal and state courts, which make allegations that may or may not be accurate. No reader should, on the basis of information contained in or referenced by this Web site, assume that any of these allegations are truthful.

Go to Search page | Go to Case Index page | Back to Top

�