Mayer Brown secures summary judgment for Baker Tilly US, LLP in Minnesota investor suit

Mayer Brown secured summary judgment for accounting firm Baker Tilly US, LLP in an action stemming from Baker Tilly’s audit of the financial statements of energy company Aspirity Holdings, which went bankrupt in 2017.

After Baker Tilly defeated class certification in a related federal case, 94 plaintiffs filed a mass action in Minnesota state court, alleging that Baker Tilly, which audited Aspirity's financial statements for the year 2015, negligently misrepresented the company’s financial condition and caused them to lose their investments. Judge Kristin Siegesmund previously dismissed all claims predicated on securities purchases and renewals, holding in part that Minnesota would not recognize cross jurisdictional class action tolling.

On July 3, 2024, the court granted Baker Tilly's motion for summary judgment on multiple grounds, including that the noteholders’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations, that Minnesota does not recognize "holder" claims based on allegations of wrongful inducement to retain securities, and that many of the noteholders could not show that they relied on Baker Tilly’s audit report. The court also dismissed the claims of two noteholders who had previously litigated the same claim in federal court on the basis of res judicata.

The Mayer Brown team included partners Stanley Parzen and Greg Deis and associate Andrew Spadafora.

The case is Eugene and Sandra Alexander, et al., v. Baker Tilly US, LLP.