Whistle-Blower Defendants Won’t Seek High Court Review

In the Neo@Ogilvy case ruling, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded in September that a plaintiff needn’t bring his or her concerns to the Securities and Exchange Commission to be considered a whistleblower for Dodd-Frank Act anti-retaliation protection purposes.

The decision doesn’t spell bad news for whistle-blowers said New York lawyer Jordan Thomas. He said whistleblowers will continue to report internally, and corporations will continue to defend anti-retaliation suits on reporting-out grounds. As such, the question “will eventually reach the Supreme Court,” Thomas said.

Meanwhile, Thomas noted, the Second Circuit’s decision stands, and the court is “very influential on securities issues.”