On February 20, 2025, Judge Horan held in Edwards v. First Trust Portfolios LP that a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation plaintiff is not entitled to a jury trial. This opinion underscores the importance of bringing additional claims that can be heard by a jury, including a Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) whistleblower retaliation claim.
Aaron Edwards filed suit against his former employer, First Trust, alleging that he was terminated in retaliation for raising concerns about a gift program. Edwards claimed that First Trust’s practice of only awarding gifts to financial advisors at the end of the year who sold the most First Trust products during that year constituted an illegal sales contest under SEC regulations. He brought claims under the whistleblower protection provisions of SOX, the Dodd-Frank Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). After Judge Horan denied First Trust’s motion for summary judgment, First Trust moved to strike Edwards’ jury demand for his Dodd-Frank retaliation claim.
In contrast to an express provision in SOX clarifying that a SOX plaintiff “shall be entitled to trial by jury,” the whistleblower protection provision of the Dodd-Frank Act does not expressly provide for a right to a jury trial, so this dispute hinges on whether Dodd-Frank Act retaliation remedies are legal or equitable in nature (if the remedies are legal, then there is a right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment). Per the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy,...
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