Federal District Court Rules Against SEC in Case Involving Gateway's Former Controller, Robert Manza
LOS ANGELES (August 7, 2006) — In November 2003, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought civil securities fraud charges against Robert Manza, former controller of Gateway, Inc. The SEC contended that Manza had engaged in fraud as a result of his involvement in seven transactions that were recorded on the books of Gateway during the third quarter of 2000. The SEC alleged that these transactions were improperly recorded because they violated generally accepted accounting principles and were not properly disclosed.
The SEC filed a summary judgment motion with respect to three of these transactions contending that there were no triable issues of material fact precluding a finding of liability against Manza. On August 2, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge, Roger Benitez (S.D. Cal.), denied this motion in its entirety and granted Manza’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment. Manza was granted partial summary judgment with respect to five of the seven transactions in question, including two of the three transactions that had formed the basis for the SEC's summary judgment motion. In granting Manza's motion on the five transactions, the court held that the SEC had provided no evidence establishing Manza's alleged liability. With respect to the single remaining transaction upon which the SEC moved for summary judgment, Judge Benitez ruled that genuine factual issues existed as to Manza's alleged liability and denied the SEC's motion on that ground.
The McDermott team representing Manza included trial partners James Sanders and Brandon Roker. McDermott’s Trial Department delivers full litigation services throughout all of our offices. Our lawyers provide clients with trial skills and experience which are effectively used in the many areas of law and business where disputes arise. We are regularly engaged in all aspects of civil, regulatory and white-collar criminal defense litigation in U.S. and international forums. The Firm's Los Angeles office opened in 1987 in its Century City location. There are approximately 90 lawyers in this office servicing our local markets, multinational corporations, both public and private, as well as private individuals.
