Ralph M. Stone is recognized as a leading lawyer in the securities litigation, investor rights, and international discovery fields. He has represented public and private companies, hedge funds, and other institutional investors in a wide variety of commercial litigation in courts around the country and in FINRA and American Arbitration Association arbitrations, on creditor committees in international bankruptcies, and in various other forums. He actively represents and advises private banks and other non-U.S. institutions in major securities litigation, and he regularly represents and advises them in various hedge fund disputes and matters arising from collapsed funds. He also represents securities industry whistleblowers before the SEC and CFTC, helping whistleblowers maintain their anonymity in presenting tips and helping them to secure financial awards as a result of their whistleblowing.
Prior Experience
From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Stone was associated with the international law firm Mayer, Brown & Platt, where he was involved in a variety of commercial litigation. He was an associate at the law firm of Milberg Weiss from 1992 until 1997. At Milberg Weiss, he focused on the representation of investors and consumers in litigation involving the federal securities laws, consumer fraud statutes, and the fiduciary obligations of corporate officers and directors. From 1997 through 2018, Mr. Stone was a partner at the firm of Shalov Stone & Bonner LLP, which he co-founded, and which later became Stone Bonner & Rocco LLP.
Representative Matters
Mr. Stone has been involved in a large number of mass actions, collective actions, and class actions. Among other achievements, Mr. Stone obtained the first-ever class certification against a foreign government in Urban GmbH v. Republic of Argentina, in which he represented holders of defaulted Republic of Argentina bonds. He has represented a group of more than 100 bondholders of an Uruguayan bank in claims against the bank’s former directors who reside in New York. Also, he has represented high-profile hedge funds as well as European and Asian funds in major securities fraud actions.
The significant securities class actions in which he has played a principal role as one of the lead counsel include: In re Winstar Communications Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) (over $40 million in recoveries, including a substantial recovery secured in connection with the pursuit of innovative claims brought against a business partner of a securities issuer); In re Baan Company Securities Litigation (D.D.C.) (settlement with bankrupt Dutch software company and its executives totaling $32 million, which amounted to nearly all of the damages claimed by class members); In re TEAM Communications Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.) (settlement with bankrupt American television licensing company predominantly traded on a German stock exchange and its executives totaling $12.5 million); In re Crayfish Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) (recoveries from Japanese software company and its executives totaling $9 million); In re Intershop Communications AG Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.) (recovery of more than $3 million from bankrupt German software company and its executives); In re Workstream, Inc., Securities Litigation (recovery of $3.9 million); Cooper v. CPS Systems, Inc. (N.D. Tex.) (recovery of $3.44 million); In re Mitcham Industries Securities Litigation (S.D. Tex.) (recovery of $2.7 million); Yuan v. Bayard Drilling Technologies, Inc. (W.D. Okla.) (recovery of $3.1 million); and Varljen v. H.J. Meyers & Co., Inc. (S.D.N.Y.) (recovery of more than $5 million).
Mr. Stone has also served as lead class counsel on behalf of participants in certain companies’ retirement plans in a number of ERISA class actions, including: In re Ferro Corp. ERISA Litigation (N.D. Ohio) (recovery of $4 million for retirement plan participants); In re Comerica, Inc. ERISA Litigation (E.D. Mich.) (recovery of $2.2 million for plan participants).
He also has been involved in a wide variety of securities arbitrations and other commercial cases relating to the securities industry. He has represented a listed company in a dispute with an investment banking firm before the American Arbitration Association and has represented investors with fraud, suitability, and deceptive practice claims against both electronic brokerage firms and traditional brokerages in FINRA arbitrations.
He has, on several occasions, served as a court-appointed receiver or fiduciary to protect and distribute funds in various insider-trading disgorgement and other cases brought by the SEC.
In addition to the wide variety of matters relating to securities and financial services, Mr. Stone has also played an active role representing victims of terrorism, including participating in the Linde v. Arab Bank litigation (E.D.N.Y.) on behalf of victims of terrorism who obtained the first verdict ever against a financial institution for providing material support to a terrorist organization’s attacks on Americans, and participating in briefing in connection with various actions seeking to enforce terrorism-based judgments against Iran, including in Peterson v. Bank Markazi, which resulted in a recovery of over $1.8 billion for victims of the 1983 Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.
Mr. Stone has actively litigated consumer protection class actions in courts around the country. For example, he played a principal role as lead counsel in In re Cablevision Consumer Litigation (E.D.N.Y.), recovering benefits of more than $28 million for cable TV subscribers who were denied access to certain Fox network-affiliated channels during a 2010 carriage dispute between Cablevision and News Corp., and Health Science Products LLC v. Sage Software SB, Inc. (N.D. Ga.), recovering $5.5 million on behalf of a class asserting that software was buggy and defective. He has also served as a lead counsel and made substantial recoveries for classes in many consumer protection cases, including in cases alleging that various finance charges imposed by banks, credit card companies, and other lenders are deceptive or unfair, electronics products were defective, software was defective or invasive of privacy rights, sports memorabilia products were not genuine as represented, insurance products were improperly or deceptively marketed, and that insurance contracts were breached.
Mr. Stone’s reported decisions include: Brandi-Dohrn v. IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, 673 F.3d 76 (2d Cir. 2012); In re Cablevision Consumer Litigation, 864 F.Supp.2d 258 (E.D.N.Y. 2012); In re Ferro Corp. ERISA Litigation, 422 F.Supp.2d 850 (N.D. Ohio 2006); In re Baan Company Securities Litigation, 245 F.Supp.2d 117 (D.D.C. 2003); Macomber v. Travelers Property and Casualty Co., 261 Conn. 620 (Conn. 2002); In re Baan Company Securities Litigation, 81 F.Supp.2d 75 (D.D.C. 2000); Milman v. Box Hill Systems Corp., 72 F.Supp.2d 220 (S.D.N.Y. 1999); Varljen v. H.J. Meyers & Co., [1998 Transfer Binder] Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) & 90,259 (S.D.N.Y. 1998); Saddle Rock Partners, Ltd. v. Hiatt, [1996.97 Transfer Binder] Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) & 99,413 (W.D. Tenn. 1996); and Sikes v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co., 841 F. Supp. 1572 (S.D. Ga. 1993).
Areas of Practice
Mr. Stone’s practice focuses on complex litigation, investor rights, and whistleblower protection. Mr. Stone has extensive experience in all aspects of complex civil litigation and securities and consumer fraud class actions.
Professional Qualifications and Activities
Mr. Stone was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York in 1991. He is currently admitted in good standing with the following courts:
- The Supreme Court of the United States of America
- All New York State courts
- The United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits
- The United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Mr. Stone is currently, or has been previously, a member of the following professional organizations:
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY)
- Former Secretary, Consumer Affairs Committee
- Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA)
Awards and Peer Recognition
Martindale-Hubbell: Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, the gold standard in attorney ratings, have recognized lawyers for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards for more than a century. Mr. Stone has an AV rating which is awarded to only those lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability, as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.
Super Lawyers: Mr. Stone is recognized as a Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation. Thomson Reuters awards this recognition to the top 5% of attorneys who have obtained a high-level of professional achievement and are highly regarded by their peers.
Education
Mr. Stone received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990, where he was an editor of The Review of Litigation. He received an A.B. in Philosophy from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1987.
Publications
Contributor of chapter “United States” in Shareholder Claims (Jordans 2012), describing U.S. law relating to investor and shareholder rights.
