NEW ORLEANS (CN) - Ten lawsuits against Enron officials were properly dismissed in federal court because they are multiple versions of the same suit, the 5th Circuit ruled.
Judge Garza decided that the law firm of Fleming & Associates tried to circumvent the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act by filing multiple suits while keeping the number of plaintiffs below the class-action threshold of 50.
Because the cases are all pending in the same court and the plaintiffs have acted jointly, the cases should be considered one class-action suit. Garza ruled.
The key to this ruling was a recent decision in a similar case in the Southern District of New York against WorldCom officials.
In that case, the lawsuits each involved between five and 48 plaintiffs. The court in New York ruled that they should be considered one lawsuit because they contain "common questions of law or fact."
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