Partners Shay Dvoretzky, Eben Colby, and Parker Rider-Longmaid were featured in Law.com’s How We Clinched Our Biggest Win of the Year So Far series. In a Q&A, they explained the strategy and challenges behind Skadden’s June 2026 Supreme Court victory for the fund industry in FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., in which the Court held that Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act (ICA) does not create a private right of action.
The Q&A described the risk posed by allowing private plaintiffs, such as activist investors, to bring suit under the ICA to rescind fund contracts. Mr. Colby explained, “Because almost everything a fund does is structured by contract, including a fund’s bylaws, giving private plaintiffs a tool to rescind contracts based on any provision of the ICA has broad potential implications.”
Mr. Dvoretzky, who argued the case in the Supreme Court, attributed the successful decision in part to Skadden’s significant experience presenting arguments about complicated statutory schemes to the Justices. He also noted the experience of Mr. Colby and counsel Marley Ann Brumme in litigating the ICA enforcement issue on behalf of funds in trial courts and the work of partner Kevin Hardy in structuring the relevant bylaws.
“The team helped us translate to the Court just how important this issue was for the fund industry — and what disastrous consequences could come from interpreting the ICA to create a private right of action,” Mr. Dvoretzky said.
Mr. Dvoretzky also highlighted Mr. Rider-Longmaid’s work developing the team’s winning briefing and amicus strategy.
Mr. Rider-Longmaid described the hurdles the team successfully overcame on the path to victory. When the Court called for the views of the Solicitor General at the certiorari stage, the team had to persuade the United States to disavow the SEC’s earlier view that Section 47(b) created a private right of action. “The Solicitor General’s office came around and supported our clients at the cert stage and then again on the merits,” he said.
Read the article: “How We Clinched Our Biggest Win of the Year So Far: A Skadden Team’s Win for the Fund Industry,” September 29, 2026.