Sec v. Arthur Young & Co.

590 F.2d 785 Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 96,766 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ARTHUR YOUNG & COMPANY, Douglas F. Page, Kenneth L. Kost, Thomas W. Orr and George Steven Burrill, Defendants-Appellees. No. 77-1768. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Feb. 1, 1979. Paul Gonson, SEC (argued), Washington, D.C., Harvey L. Pitt, Atty., Washington, D.C., for plaintiff-appellant. M. Laurence Popofsky (argued), San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before CHOY and SNEED, Circuit Judges, and WATERS, * District Judge. SNEED, Circuit Judge: 1 This case grew out of the activities of Jack Burke, an oil and gas venture promoter, during 1964-71. In the course of these activities the appellee Arthur Young and Company (AY) performed certain audits and prepared certain financial statements in connection with some of Burke's ventures. In 1973, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought a civil action against Burke and many of his associates charging violations of the antifraud and reporting requirements of the securities laws. The SEC joined other defendants,…