Does The New Statute Of Limitations Revive Time-Barred Claims?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 extends the statute of limitations for federal securities fraud to the earlier of two years after the discovery of the facts constituting the violation or five years after such violation. Although the legislation clearly provides that it “shall apply to all proceedings addressed by this section that are commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act [July 30, 2002],” left unresolved is whether Congress intended to revive claims that had already expired under the earlier one year/three years statute of limitations.
Courts are beginning to address this issue, with mixed results. In Roberts v. Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., 2003 WL 1936116 (M.D. Fla. March 31, 2003), the district court found that Sarbanes-Oxley revived already time-barred claims because the legislative history demonstrates that Congress intended to achieve that result. The court, however, primarily relied on floor statements made by a single senator and a few sentences in a congressional analysis of the legislation in reaching this conclusion. Perhaps as a result, it certified an interlocutory appeal on the question that is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
In the meantime, two other district courts have issued contrary opinions. In Glaser v. Enzo Biochem, Inc., 2003 WL 21960613 (E.D. Va. July 16, 2003), the court concluded that “Congress did not unambiguously provide that the [new] limitations period would apply retroactively.” Last week, in In re Enterprise Mortgage Acceptance Co., LLC Sec. Litig. , 03 Civ. 3752 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 5, 2003), the court held: (a) “there is no clear language in the statute stating that it applies retroactively or that it operates to revive time-barred claims;” (b) the statute expressly disavows that it is creating any new rights of action; and (c) the legislative history examined by the Roberts court does not support a finding that Congress intended to revive time-barred claims.
Stay tuned.
Addition: The opinion is now available on Westlaw – In re Enterprise Mortgage Acceptance Co., LLC Sec. Litig., 2003 WL 22955925 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 5, 2003).