Ackerberg v. Johnson

Norman Ackerberg (plaintiff) bought shares of Vertimag Systems Corporation from Clark Johnson (defendant), who had owned the securities for at least four years. Ackerberg later sued Johnson and the brokerage Piper Jaffray & Hopwood (defendant) under the Securities Act of 1933, contending Johnson was not entitled to the exemption under section 4(a)(1) because he was effectively an underwriter.

Whether a person who purchases securities for the purpose of holding them for investment is an 'underwriter' under the Securities Act of 1933.