Chris Kayser and Tom Bode secure major victory in Oregon Securities Law case in Nevada state court

Larkins Vacura Kayser attorneys Chris Kayser and Tom Bode won partial summary judgment for client Seven Peaks, a Bend-based venture investment fund, in Eide Bailly LLP v. Seven Peaks Ventures Fund II LP, et al.. The Nevada state court ruled that (1) it would apply the Oregon Securities Law to the case and (2) that certain securities sales had violated that law. The question of what law to apply was an issue of first impression in Nevada. In deciding to apply the Oregon law in the Nevada forum, the Court agreed with courts in other states that have recognized that “the securities laws of two or more states may be applicable to a single transaction without presenting a conflict of laws question.” Order at 10 (quoting Simms Inv. Co. v. E.F. Hutton & Co., 715 F. Supp. 1512, 1436 (M.D. Fla. 1989)).

Seven Peaks invested $7 million in crypto company Prime Trust in 2021 and 2022. When Prime Trust entered bankruptcy in 2023, it seemed that the entire investment had been lost. LVK identified claims under the Oregon Securities Law based on allegations that Prime Trust sold the investment by means of untrue statements or misleading omissions and further identified that Prime Trust’s independent auditor, Eide Bailly LLP, participated and aided in the sale of the securities. The case also alleges that Eide Bailly participated in the untrue statements and material omissions.

The decision brings Seven Peaks closer to a satisfactory resolution of this case and recovery of its investment. It also stands for the principle that the Oregon Securities Law protects Oregon investors even when securities actions are brought in a forum outside Oregon.

LVK has represented investors in securities cases for over a decade and this ruling is the continuation of that tradition of excellence and success.