Securities Investor Protection Corporation Laments Passing Of Bankruptcy Attorney Harvey Miller
Apr 27, 2015, 05:26 ET
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms, issued the following statement today on the passing of Harvey Miller, Esq.
"Harvey Miller was the Dean of the Bankruptcy Bar. He was an innovator, an unparalleled legal strategist, a gentleman, and a commanding presence in the courtroom.
"Mr. Miller was an expert in brokerage firm insolvency in the 1960s, even before the Securities Investor Protection Act was enacted in late 1970. He had been counsel to the trustee in the Ira Haupt & Co. bankruptcy, which grew out of the 'Salad Oil' scandal. He knew the unique fiduciary problems of a business that deals with other people's money.
"At SIPC's request, Mr. Miller served as trustee in one of the most notorious brokerage firm failures in history, the failure of Stratton Oakmont, the firm made infamous by the film 'The Wolf of Wall Street.' More recently, he also served as counsel to the Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and was the principal strategist of the plan that led to calming the international securities markets when the Lehman empire collapsed.
"We express our condolences to Mr. Miller's wife, Ruth, and to his friends and colleagues, on the passing of this towering figure, whose impact on business reorganization will surely be a permanent part of American jurisprudence."
ABOUT SIPC
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (http://www.sipc.org) is the U.S. investor's first line of defense in the event of the failure of a brokerage firm owing customers cash and securities that are missing from customer accounts. SIPC either acts as trustee or works with an independent court-appointed trustee in a brokerage insolvency case to recover funds.
The statute that created SIPC provides that customers of a failed brokerage firm receive all non-negotiable securities - such as stocks or bonds -- that are already registered in their names or in the process of being registered. At the same time, funds from the SIPC reserve are available to satisfy the remaining claims for customer cash and/or securities held in custody with the broker for up to a maximum of $500,000 per customer. This figure includes a maximum of $250,000 on claims for cash. From the time Congress created it in 1970 through December 2013, SIPC has advanced $ 2.1 billion in order to make possible the recovery of $133 billion in assets for an estimated 772,000 investors.
All non-media/investor inquiries of SIPC should be directed to [email protected] or (202) 371-8300.
SOURCE Securities Investor Protection Corporation, Washington, D.C.