Thomas S. Richey concentrates his practice in securities, banking and corporate litigation. He chairs Powell Goldstein's Securities, Corporate and Fiduciary Litigation Practice Group.
Mr. Richey provides over 30 years of broad-based experience in securities, financial and corporate litigation involving antifraud and non-registration claims, tender offers, mergers and insider trading issues, shareholder class actions and derivative actions, regulatory and enforcement actions, dissenting shareholders stock appraisal proceedings, director and officer liability insurance and indemnification, internal investigations and special committee representation, partnership disputes and professional liability litigation. Mr. Richey has successfully handled federal and state Rackateer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) litigation, with victories on both trial and appellate levels. Mr. Richey has also handled a wide range of general commercial, financial and real estate litigation over the years for businesses and industries of all kinds. His clients have included publicly and closely held corporations and their officers, directors and shareholders, national brokerage and investment banking firms, institutional investors, professional firms, REITs, banks, federal banking agencies, trade associations and other nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Richey is experienced in successfully conducting large-scale, complex litigation. In 2007, as counsel for a municipal bond underwriter, Mr. Richey won affirmance on appeal of dismissal of Rule 10b-5 claims and summary judgment on fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims brought by a bond insurer in a case closely watched in the bond industry arising out of a defaulted $69,550,000 revenue bond issue. Mr. Richey has tried and won favorable jury verdicts in officer and director liability, securities fraud and fiduciary litigation cases, among others. He won a $14.8 million jury verdict as lead counsel in a four-week trial involving claims concerning redemption of stock from an estate and the executor's misuse of estate assets to benefit himself and third parties. Mr. Richey served as appellate counsel in a RICO case, arguing the appeal for the CEO of a major subsidiary of a world-wide media company in the 8th Circuit and obtaining the reversal in June 2008 of a $4.5 million federal civil RICO jury verdict and a judgment of dismissal for the client. Other victories include trials of dissenting shareholder stock valuation cases, engagements as special appellate counsel, two directors and officers liability insurance coverage cases (a bench trial of a declaratory judgment action in Mississippi and summary judgment in a District of Columbia garnishment action) and the successful trial of a securities fraud arbitration involving a limited partnership formed to conduct a hostile tender offer. Mr. Richey has tried cases in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, the District of Columbia and Georgia and has handled litigation in many other states, including New York, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, as well as all of the Southeastern states. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex financial litigation.
Mr. Richey has extensive experience litigating financial and corporate claims in special courts and proceedings, including probate and bankruptcy courts and receivership. He has handled claims involving municipal bond defaults, hedge fund loan defaults, foreclosures on corporate stock and failed financial institutions. He has also served as counsel to special committees of boards of directors in investigative, litigation and transactional contexts. He has also tried and won stockbroker-customer disputes and has successfully handled state and federal agency enforcement proceedings.
Mr. Richey also provides consulting services in corporate indemnification and insurance matters. He assists corporate lawyers and their clients on indemnification and advancement to management and directors in all forms of business and nonprofit organizations. His insurance practice focuses primarily on director and officer (D&O) liability insurance. He reviews policies for gaps in coverage, assists in negotiating improvements in policy language, and provides advice and assistance with respect to claims.
On May 17, 2006, Mr. Richey was appointed by the U.S. District court for the Northern District of Georgia to serve as receiver of Easton Rutledge Financial Services, Inc., Zamindari Capital, LLC, Lexington International Fund LLC and Oxford Adams Capital LLC, in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Geoffrey A. Gish, 1-06-CV-1171-cc. To reach the Receivership Web site, please click here.
Mr. Richey is the founder of the Annual Corporate Litigation Seminar for the Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education, now in its twelfth year. Mr. Richey has spoken multiple times at the Directors College sponsored by the National Association of Corporate Directors and at the Annual Corporate Law Institute organized by the Business Law Section of the Georgia Bar. He has also spoken at other professional seminars, corporate training workshops and business and government conferences on securities claims and remedies, insider trading, disclosure issues, directors' liability, compliance and other topics in corporate, banking and securities litigation.
Mr. Richey has presented seminar papers on a wide variety of securities and corporate litigation topics and has recently authored the 2007 Annual Review of Case Law and Developments In Georgia Corporate and Business Organization Law.
