Lennon

BACKGROUND

Capital Consultants, LLC (CCL),1 was an Oregon invest- ment management company that made investments for several hundred individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans. The employee plans are retirement and other employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).2 Under investment advisory agree- ments and powers of attorney, CCL generally had broad dis- cretion to invest funds on behalf of its clients in publicly-held securities as well as private assets such as real estate and pri- vate notes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the United States Department of Labor (DOL) brought this suit to 1 CCL previously did business as Capital Consultants, Inc. (CCI), and in some of the agreements discussed below CCI was the signing or desig- nated party. Hereinafter, CCL refers to CCL and CCI. 2 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461. Some of the ERISA plans were also multi- employer trust funds subject to the Labor Management Relations Act. See 29 U.S.C. § 186(c). EIGHTH DISTRICT ELECTRICAL PENSION v. LENNON 1349 place CCL into receivership. These agencies claimed that CCL and its principals, Jeffrey and Barclay Grayson,…