Oddball stories from 2010
In what was an apparent first, two former financial advisers filed a lawsuit against a state government. Henry S. Brock and Jay Rice alleged that the Utah Division of Securities, among others, violated their right to due process and conducted unreasonable search and seizure, malicious prosecution, and cruel and unusual punishment enforced by extortion, bribery and witness tampering.
What's more, the pair also claimed that the regulator posted false press releases, claiming that the plaintiffs were “poster boys of securities fraud in Utah.” All told, the duo sought $357 million in damages. That's close to 20% of what was in the state's general fund in fiscal year 2010.