Opinion
Civil Action No. 05-cv-02140-RPM.
January 25, 2006
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS
On December 12, 2005, Defendant LVA Holdings, Inc. ("Starnet") filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' amended complaint, filed November 16, 2005. Attached to the brief in support of the motion is a copy of the Initial Decision of July 18, 2005, by Administrative Law Judge James T. Kelly in Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-11626 before the Securities and Exchange Commission. The defendant asserts that the plaintiffs are collaterally estopped from litigating issues raised in this civil action as a result of the findings of the ALJ. That contention is wrong. The defendant also asserts that the factual allegations of the amended complaint are insufficient to state the claims for relief asserted and that the claims are barred by applicable statutes of limitations.
In this Court's view the statute of limitations defense cannot be determined from the allegations of the amended complaint. Additionally, the findings of the ALJ appear to give some support to the core allegations of the plaintiffs that they were assured by officers and agents of the defendant that their stock transactions were lawful. Considering the pleadings under the Rule 12(b)(6) standard, the Court is unable to say that the plaintiffs have no basis for obtaining any of the relief sought in the amended complaint. It is therefore
ORDERED that the motion to dismiss is denied.