Morrison, et al. v. Rockwell, et al. was filed in California Superior Court, Marin County, on May 28, 2021. The complaint seeks civil damages for claims of breach of fiduciary duty, multiple violations of the California Corporations Code, constructive fraud, breach of contract, and negligence.
Plaintiffs are a group of investors who used Defendants as investment advisors. Defendants are a series of corporate entities, Dow Rockwell, LLC, Rockwell Retirement Partners, and Marin Wealth Management, LLC, an individual investment advisor, Rick Rockwell, and many unnamed defendants Plaintiffs believe may have been involved in aiding Defendants.
The complaint alleges that Defendants recommended that Plaintiffs invest in a series of LLCs purporting to sell promissory notes that were ultimately part of a Ponzi scheme run by Kenneth Casey and his associate Lewis Wallach. Casey and Wallach paid investors in traditional Ponzi fashion while using a portion of those funds for their personal benefit. A more complete description of the underlying scheme can be found here.
Plaintiffs further allege that Rockwell failed to exercise due diligence into the soundness of the investments and misrepresented that he had investigated the investments and considered them safe and appropriate. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the fraudsters paid Rockwell a commission in exchange for the Plaintiffs’ investments and that Plaintiffs were unaware of the relationship.
Plaintiffs seek damages for Defendants’ misrepresentations under theories of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contract, negligence, and for violations of California statutory law, as well as rescission of the investment and punitive damages .