A company director who pledged all his stock to a merger can sue over allegedly false statements in the merger registration statement — even if he made the pledge long before the registration statement was drafted.

Reading Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 broadly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that David Hildes, a director of Harbinger Corp., can proceed with his suit against former directors and auditors of Peregrine Systems Inc.