WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will hear an appeal that seeks to shut down class-action lawsuits from investors who lost billions in a massive Ponzi scheme orchestrated by convicted former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford.
The justices on Friday said they would review appeals court rulings allowing the suits to proceed against individuals, law firms and investment companies that the investors claim aided Stanford's fraud.
At issue is whether a federal law aimed at limiting private lawsuits that allege securities fraud can be used to block the suits investors filed in Louisiana and Texas. A federal judge initially threw them out, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the suits could go forward.
Last year, a judge sentenced Stanford to 110 years in prison.
