Greenberg Traurig cannot be held liable for its former attorney’s work on behalf of convicted Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford in a putative class action suit, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Investors who lost billions of dollars after purchasing certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank Ltd. had sought to hold Greenberg Traurig responsible for Carlos Loumiet’s work as primary outside counsel for Stanford until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut operations down in 2009. Loumiet no longer practices at Greenberg Traurig.