Securities and Exchange Commission v. Grant et al

Filing 19

Judge George A. OToole, Jr: ORDER entered denying 9 Motion to Dismiss (Danieli, Chris)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-11665-GAO

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
v.
SAGE ADVISORY GROUP, LLC, and
BENJAMIN LEE GRANT,
Defendants.

ORDER
O’TOOLE, D.J.
After consideration of the parties’ written submissions and oral arguments, I
conclude that the defendants’ motion to dismiss the Complaint (dkt. no. 9) ought to be,
and it hereby is, DENIED.
The Complaint adequately alleges a scheme to obtain clients for the defendants by
means of misleading representations and omissions. Qualified only by the requirement of
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) that allegations of fraud be pled with particularity,
Rule 12(b)(6), even after Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 554 (2007), and Ashcroft
v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009), still requires only notice pleading. Whether
the allegations of the Complaint can ultimately be supported by evidence that can or will
persuade a trier of fact is a matter left to a later occasion. The pleading is sufficient.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ George A. O’Toole, Jr.
United States District Judge