2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 30. Trade and Commerce › Chapter 10. Securities Regulation › Part 3. Offenses, Penalties, and Immunities › 30-10-307. Civil liabilities -- limitations on actions

30-10-307. Civil liabilities -- limitations on actions.
(1) Any person who offers or sells a security in violation of 30-10-202 or offers or sells a security by means of fraud or misrepresentation is liable to the person buying the security from the offeror or seller, who may sue either at law or in equity to recover the consideration paid for the security, together with interest at 10% a year from the date of payment, costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees, less the amount of any income received on the security, upon the tender of the security, or for damages if the buyer no longer owns the security. Damages are the amount that would be recoverable upon a tender less:
(a) the value of the security when the buyer disposed of it; and
(b) interest at 10% a year from the date of disposition.
(2) Every person who directly or indirectly controls a seller liable under subsection (1), every partner, officer, or director (or person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions) or employee of the seller, and every broker-dealer or salesperson who participates or materially aids in the sale is liable jointly and severally with and to the same extent as the seller if the nonseller knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care could have known, of the existence of the facts by reason of which the liability is alleged to exist. There must be contribution among the several liable persons.
(3) Any tender specified in this section may be made at any time before entry of judgment. A cause of action under this statute survives the death of any person who might have been a plaintiff or a defendant. A person may not sue under this section if:
(a) the buyer has received a written offer, at a time when the buyer owned the security, to refund the consideration paid, together with interest at 10% a year from the date of payment, less the amount of any income received on the security and the buyer failed to accept the offer within 30 days of its receipt; or
(b) the buyer has received a written offer at a time when the buyer did not own the security in the amount that would be recoverable under subsection (1) upon a tender less:
(i) the value of the security when the buyer disposed of it; and
(ii) interest at 10% a year from the date of disposition.
(4) A person who has made or engaged in the performance of any contract in violation of any provision of parts 1 through 3 of this chapter or any rule or order under parts 1 through 3 of this chapter or who has acquired any purported right under the contract with knowledge of the facts by reason of which its making or performance was in violation may not base any suit on the contract. Any condition, stipulation, or provision binding any person acquiring any security to waive compliance with any provision of parts 1 through 3 of this chapter or any rule or order adopted under parts 1 through 3 of this chapter is void as against public policy and in the public interest.
(5) (a) An action may not be maintained under this section to enforce any liability founded on a violation of 30-10-202 unless it is brought within 2 years after the violation occurs.
(b) An action may not be maintained under this section to enforce any liability founded on fraud or misrepresentation unless it is brought within 2 years after discovery of the fraud or misrepresentation on which the liability is founded or after the discovery should have been made by the exercise of reasonable diligence.
(c) An action may not be maintained under this section to enforce any liability founded on fraud or misrepresentation unless it is brought within 5 years after the transaction on which the action is based.
History: En. Sec. 22, Ch. 251, L. 1961; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 213, L. 1967; R.C.M. 1947, 15-2022; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 280, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 231, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 272, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 162, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 904, Ch. 56, L. 2009.