Skinner v. EF Hutton & Co., Inc.

MITCHELL, Justice.

The primary issue presented is whether the doctrine of in pari delicto provides a defense to claims under state law when defendant stockbrokers induce plaintiffs to buy securities by representing that they have “inside information” which will result in those securities increasing in value. We conclude that the mere fact that the plaintiffs in such cases have attempted to act upon inside information unlawfully does not cause the doctrine of in pari delicto to raise an affirmative defense which will defeat otherwise valid claims for relief asserted under state law. We also…