Mr. Coombs specializes in all types of securities-related matters, both securities litigation and securities transactions such as private placements, stock purchase transactions, and reverse and triangular mergers, not to mention assisting reporting issuers in their ‘34 Act filings on EDGAR, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s public company database. In other words, Mr. Coombs practices in all matters involving the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. He also defends individuals and corporations in SEC and state securities enforcement actions. He further represents stock transfer agents and small brokerage firms. On occasion, he represents individuals and corporations criminally charged with state or federal securities fraud violations. From 1997-1998, he served as Chairman of the Securities Section of the Utah State Bar. Mr. Coombs had the very first combined RICO (federal racketeering) and securities fraudaction certified as a Class Action in Utah federal district court in 1994 on behalf of 32,500 people (i.e., Herron, et al. v. OTRA Securities Group, et al.). Mr. Coombs is also an expert on stock conversion, the leading Utah case on stock conversion being his case. Broadwater v. Old Republic Surety (Utah Sup. Ct. 1993).
In 2010, Mr. Coombs obtained a summary judgment of over $1 million in favor of his clients in Utah federal district court for stock conversion and wrongful refusal to transfer securities. In 2018, Mr. Coombs successfully defended clients sued for $57 million in damages allegedly incurred by public company as a result of a failed merger transaction, a local federal judge, after trial, awarding the plaintiff but $1 in damages. In addition to securities litigation and securities transactions, Mr. Coombs also practices in all aspects of commercial and business litigation, including litigation involving corporations, partnerships, and LLCs, etc.
More recently, Mr. Coombs has lectured on securities law at the Gore School of Business, Westminster College. In the past, Mr. Coombs has served as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) that regulated securities broker-dealers, a self-regulatory organization now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
While born in Salt Lake City, Mr. Coombs grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, when his father moved the family there to start a business in the mid-1960s. Mr. Coombs later returned to Salt Lake City, attending Highland High School and Westminster College. In 1977, Mr. Coombs graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, with a B.A. degree in English and Philosophy. Later that same year, he studied drama at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
In 1981, he graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, the adjunct law school to Loyola Marymount University and in 1982 he returned to Utah and passed the Utah Bar exam in May of that year. In 1974, in a program sponsored by Westminster College, Mr. Coombs worked for 6 months for a Congressman in Washington DC, a Congressman then-serving on the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon Impeachment Proceedings.
Mr. Coombs is a member of the Utah Bar, the Utah Federal Bar and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Bar. In 1997-98, he served as Chairman of the Securities Section of the Utah State Bar, an elected position. During the same period, he also served as Worshipful Master of Argenta Lodge No. 3, Free & Accepted Masons of Utah.
Mr. Coombs is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake and also a member of the Minos Chapter of the Pan-Cretan Association of America headquartered in New York. Since 1978, Mr. Coombs has been a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild (S.A.G.). In 1976, Mr. Coombs received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corps.
