7 USC 25 - Private rights of action

View all text of Chapter 1 [§ 1 - § 27f]

§ 25. Private rights of action

(a) Actual damages; actionable transactions; exclusive remedy

(1) Any person (other than a registered entity or registered futures association) who violates this chapter or who willfully aids, abets, counsels, induces, or procures the commission of a violation of this chapter shall be liable for actual damages resulting from one or more of the transactions referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of this paragraph and caused by such violation to any other person—

(A) who received trading advice from such person for a fee;

(B) who made through such person any contract of sale of any commodity for future delivery (or option on such contract or any commodity) or any swap; or who deposited with or paid to such person money, securities, or property (or incurred debt in lieu thereof) in connection with any order to make such contract or any swap;

(i) an option subject to section 6c of this title (other than an option purchased or sold on a registered entity or other board of trade);

(ii) a contract subject to section 23 of this title; or 1

1 So in original. The word “or” probably should not appear.

(iii) an interest or participation in a commodity pool; or

(iv) a swap; or

(D) who purchased or sold a contract referred to in subparagraph (B) hereof or swap if the violation constitutes—

(i) the use or employment of, or an attempt to use or employ, in connection with a swap, or a contract of sale of a commodity, in interstate commerce, or for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any registered entity, any manipulative device or contrivance in contravention of such rules and regulations as the Commission shall promulgate by not later than 1 year after July 21, 2010; or

(ii) a manipulation of the price of any such contract or swap or the price of the commodity underlying such contract or swap.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (b), the rights of action authorized by this subsection and by sections 7(d)(13), 7a–1(c)(2)(H), and 21(b)(10) of this title shall be the exclusive remedies under this chapter available to any person who sustains loss as a result of any alleged violation of this chapter. Nothing in this subsection shall limit or abridge the rights of the parties to agree in advance of a dispute upon any forum for resolving claims under this section, including arbitration.

(3) In any action arising from a violation in the execution of an order on the floor of a registered entity, the person referred to in paragraph (1) shall be liable for—

(A) actual damages proximately caused by such violation. If an award of actual damages is made against a floor broker in connection with the execution of a customer order, and the futures commission merchant which selected the floor broker for the execution of the customer order is held to be responsible under section 2(a)(1) of this title for the floor broker’s violation, such futures commission merchant may be required to satisfy such award; and

(B) where the violation is willful and intentional, punitive or exemplary damages equal to no more than two times the amount of such actual damages. If an award of punitive or exemplary damages is made against a floor broker in connection with the execution of a customer order, and the futures commission merchant which selected the floor broker for the execution of the customer order is held to be responsible under section 2(a)(1) of this title for the floor broker’s violation, such futures commission merchant may be required to satisfy such award if the floor broker fails to do so, except that such requirement shall apply to the futures commission merchant only if it willfully and intentionally selected the floor broker with the intent to assist or facilitate the floor broker’s violation.

(4)Contract enforcement between eligible counterparties.—

(A)In general.—No hybrid instrument sold to any investor shall be void, voidable, or unenforceable, and no party to a hybrid instrument shall be entitled to rescind, or recover any payment made with respect to, the hybrid instrument under this section or any other provision of Federal or State law, based solely on the failure of the hybrid instrument to comply with the terms or conditions of section 2(f) of this title or regulations of the Commission.

(B)Swaps.—No agreement, contract, or transaction between eligible contract participants or persons reasonably believed to be eligible contract participants shall be void, voidable, or unenforceable, and no party to such agreement, contract, or transaction shall be entitled to rescind, or recover any payment made with respect to, the agreement, contract, or transaction under this section or any other provision of Federal or State law, based solely on the failure of the agreement, contract, or transaction—

(i) to meet the definition of a swap under section 1a of this title; or

(ii) to be cleared in accordance with section 2(h)(1) of this title.

(5)Legal certainty for long-term swaps entered into before July 21, 2010.—

(A)Effect on swaps.—Unless specifically reserved in the applicable swap, neither the enactment of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010, nor any requirement under that Act or an amendment made by that Act, shall constitute a termination event, force majeure, illegality, increased costs, regulatory change, or similar event under a swap (including any related credit support arrangement) that would permit a party to terminate, renegotiate, modify, amend, or supplement 1 or more transactions under the swap.

(B)Position limits.—Any position limit established under the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 shall not apply to a position acquired in good faith prior to the effective date of any rule, regulation, or order under the Act that establishes the position limit; provided, however, that such positions shall be attributed to the trader if the trader’s position is increased after the effective date of such position limit rule, regulation, or order.

(6)Contract enforcement for foreign futures contracts.—A contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery traded or executed on or through the facilities of a board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United States for purposes of section 6(a) of this title shall not be void, voidable, or unenforceable, and a party to such a contract shall not be entitled to rescind or recover any payment made with respect to the contract, based on the failure of the foreign board of trade to comply with any provision of this chapter.

(b) Liabilities of organizations and individuals; bad faith requirement; exclusive remedy

(1)

(A) A registered entity that fails to enforce any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution that it is required to enforce by section 7, 7a–1, 7a–2, 7b–3, or 24a of this title, (B) a licensed board of trade that fails to enforce any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution that it is required to enforce by the Commission, or (C) any registered entity that in enforcing any such bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution violates this chapter or any Commission rule, regulation, or order, shall be liable for actual damages sustained by a person who engaged in any transaction on or subject to the rules of such registered entity to the extent of such person’s actual losses that resulted from such transaction and were caused by such failure to enforce or enforcement of such bylaws, rules, regulations, or resolutions.

(2) A registered futures association that fails to enforce any bylaw or rule that is required under section 21 of this title or in enforcing any such bylaw or rule violates this chapter or any Commission rule, regulation, or order shall be liable for actual damages sustained by a person that engaged in any transaction specified in subsection (a) of this section to the extent of such person’s actual losses that resulted from such transaction and were caused by such failure to enforce or enforcement of such bylaw or rule.

(3) Any individual who, in the capacity as an officer, director, governor, committee member, or employee of registered 2

2 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “a”.

entity or a registered futures association willfully aids, abets, counsels, induces, or procures any failure by any such entity to enforce (or any violation of the chapter in enforcing) any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, shall be liable for actual damages sustained by a person who engaged in any transaction specified in subsection (a) of this section on, or subject to the rules of, such registered entity or, in the case of an officer, director, governor, committee member, or employee of a registered futures association, any transaction specified in subsection (a) of this section, in either case to the extent of such person’s actual losses that resulted from such transaction and were caused by such failure or violation.

(4) A person seeking to enforce liability under this section must establish that the registered entity 3

3 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.

registered futures association, officer, director, governor, committee member, or employee acted in bad faith in failing to take action or in taking such action as was taken, and that such failure or action caused the loss.

(5) The rights of action authorized by this subsection shall be the exclusive remedy under this chapter available to any person who sustains a loss as a result of (A) the alleged failure by a registered entity or registered futures association or by any officer, director, governor, committee member, or employee to enforce any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, or (B) the taking of action in enforcing any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution referred to in this subsection that is alleged to have violated this chapter, or any Commission rule, regulation, or order.

(d) Dates of application to actions

(Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 369, § 22, as added Pub. L. 97–444, title II, § 235, Jan. 11, 1983, 96 Stat. 2322; amended Pub. L. 102–546, title II, §§ 211, 222(d), title IV, § 402(14), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3607, 3616, 3625; Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(5) [title I, §§ 120, 123(a)(25)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–404, 2763A–410; Pub. L. 110–234, title XIII, §§ 13105(i), 13203(n), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1435, 1441; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XIII, §§ 13105(i), 13203(n), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2197, 2203; Pub. L. 111–203, title VII, §§ 738(c), 739, 749(h), 753(c), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1728, 1729, 1748, 1754.)