U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Ninth Circuit Decision Limiting Auditor Liability Under Section 11 of the Securities Act

On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined, without explanation, to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Hunt et al. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) et al., 159 F.4th 603 (9th Cir. 2025), which we previously reported on in the November 14, 2025 Auditor Liability Bulletin. As discussed in that Bulletin, the Ninth Circuit held that Section 11 of the Securities Act does not impose strict liability on accountants for a client’s financial statements or information in a registration statement, regardless of whether the accountant prepared or certified them, and that accountants are not required, by issuing an audit opinion, to guarantee that an issuer’s financial statements were free from error.

The Supreme Court’s order denying cert for Hunt is available here. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion can be found here. The prior Auditor Liability Bulletin concerning the case can be found here.