Dcd Programs, Ltd. v. Michael W. Leighton, Hill, Farrer & Burrill

This appeal comes from the Central District of California where the court denied a motion for leave to submit a fourth amended complaint. Appellants seek to amend their complaint to add appellee, the law firm of Hill, Farrer & Burrill, as a defendant to the suit.

I.

This case was brought by a number of limited partnerships seeking damages from numerous individual and corporate defendants. Hill, Farrer & Burrill (HFB), was not named as a defendant in the original complaint. The original complaint alleged violations of both federal and state securities laws. More specifically, it was alleged that the corporate defendants offered and sold “investment contracts” to the limited partnerships in derogation of the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The limited partnerships fall into two categories. First are the 1982 partnerships which were research and development partnerships formed to develop “state-of-the-art” commodities trading programs. Second are the 1983 partnerships which purchased an investment contract called the “Futures Market Advisor Program” from a defendant corporation and its affiliated…