Baer v. United States, No. 12-1319; Third Circuit; opinion by Stark, U.S.D.J.; filed July 1, 2013. Before Judges Hardiman, Aldisert and Stark, District Judge, sitting by designation. On appeal from the District of New Jersey, No. 2-11-cv-01277. [Sat below: Judge Chesler.] [17 pp.]
This case arises from the Ponzi scheme operated by Bernard Madoff. Plaintiffs-appellants were customers of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) and brought suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to recover damages for injuries resulting from the alleged failure of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to uncover and terminate Madoff's Ponzi scheme in a timely manner. The allegations contained in appellants' complaint are derived substantially from a 457-page report prepared by the SEC's Office of Investigations (the OIG report), which describes in detail the SEC's failed multiyear investigation of Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
