Texas Civil Statutes Section 33 - ''Seller'' Definition

In Brown v. Cole, 155 Tex. 624, 291 S.W.2d 704 (1956), the Texas Supreme Court defined the term "seller" broadly, making liable to an aggrieved buyer any person who served as a "link in the chain of the selling process." Id. at 629, 291 S.W.2d at 708. Under the 1977 amendments the liability for "control persons and aiders" was incorporated into a new section of the statute; the comment pertinent to that section notes that "Brown v. Cole should have no application to the new law, since 33F provides quite specifically who, besides a person who buys or sells, is liable, and the criteria for such liability." A Defendant is liable under this section if they directly or indirectly control a seller, buyer or issuer of a security, 581--33F 1, or if they directly or indirectly, with intent to deceive or defraud, materially aids a seller, buyer or issuer of a security. 581--33F 2.