Securities and Exchange Commission v. Caledonian Bank Ltd. et al, No. 1:2015cv00894 - Document 140 (S.D.N.Y. 2015)

Court Description: OPINION & ORDER re: 103 MOTION for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Verdmont Capital, S.A. As the "statutory guardian" of the nation's financial markets, the SEC is imbued with enormous powers to prot ect the investing public. It can halt securities trades and seek to freeze-through its representations to a court-the assets of any institution. However, the SEC's canon of ethics cautions: "The power to investigate carries with it the po wer to defame and destroy." 17 C.F.R. § 200.66. Judges rely on the SEC to deploy those powers conscientiously and provide accurate assessments regarding the evidence collected in their investigations. In that way, the integrity of the r egulatory regime is preserved. This case reveals the dire consequences that flow when the SEC fails to live up to its mandate and litigants yield to the Government's onslaught. During an ex parte proceeding to freeze assets, where the adversary process is not in play, the SEC has an obligation to timely alert the court to foreseeable collateral damage. By overstating its case, the SEC can do great harm and undermine the public's confidence in the administration of justice. And that damage can be compounded when financial institutions, anxious to appease a regulator, submit to unconscionable terms and permit their depositors' assets to be held hostage without seeking immediate relief from a court. As this case demonstrates, these concerns are not hypothetical. This lesson aside, the pleadings are not conclusive on Verdmont's involvement with the unlawful distributions alleged here. Moreover, it is in the public interest for the SEC-exercising i ts power fairly and its resources efficiently-to follow where its plausible allegations lead. Verdmont's motion for judgment on the pleadings is denied. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion pending at ECF Nos. 89 and 103 and docket a copy of this Opinion and Order in SEC v. Norstra Energy Inc., No. 15-cv-04751 (S.D.N.Y. filed June 18, 2015). The stay of discovery against Verdmont, ordered at ECF No. 131, is lifted. (As further set forth in this Opinion & Order.) (Signed by Judge William H. Pauley, III on 11/10/2015) (mro)