Lawson v. FMR LLC, et al.

NCLC filed twice in this case: once to support review and once on the merits.

NCLC urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reject an attempt by the trial bar to expand the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's whistleblower provision to cover employees of privately held companies that contract with public companies. In this case, former employees of a privately owned firm claim they were punished for reporting allegedly illegal activities relating to publicly held companies. A district court held that Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) provides whistleblower protection for these employees. In its brief, NCLC argued that the clear language of SOX provides whistleblower protection only for employees of public companies. NCLC warned that the district court's decision exposes a large number of small, privately held companies to costly litigation.

The First Circuit reversed the district court, and instructed that court to dismiss the case.

Amicus brief supporting review filed 8/9/2010. Interlocutory review granted 10/25/2010. Amicus brief on the merits filed 12/27/2010. Decided 2/3/2012.