Reisman v. KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Soon after selling their interest in Vamet Software Corporation, a family business, for shares of stock in Marcam Corporation (Marcam), a publicly traded company, the Reismans2 saw the value of their investment take a steady and precipitous plunge. When able to do so, they sold their Marcam stock at a much reduced price. After Marcam’s subsequent restatement of certain recent financial reports revealed that the prior reports had overstated Marcam’s revenues, the plaintiffs sued the defendant accounting firm, KPMG Peat Marwick LLP (Peat Marwick), alleging that the firm, which had certified…