A ruling handed down recently in Morrison v. National Australia Bank found that non-U.s. investors who buy securities on foreign exchanges can't sue in U.S. courts, even if the securities also are listed here. That's a good thing, according to a letter published in The American Spectator. "With the recent economic downturn and accompanying drop in stock prices, the plaintiffs' bar is lining up to file new lawsuits accusing companies of fraud. The last thing the judicial system needs is a wave of additional litigation over foreign securities clogging the U.S. courts," says Douglas Smith, a Senior Lecturer in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
