Broad Construction to Protect Investors.

Washington securities laws are very broadly construed to protect investors. Unlike federal securities laws which focus on protecting the public market investor (according to the Washington Supreme Court), the state security laws are designed to protect the individual investors like Plaintiffs:

We note that while the purpose of federal securities laws is to maintain the integrity of the secondary securities markets and to enforce disclosure, the WSSA is intended to protect investors. Comment, Securities Fraud Under the Blue Sky of Washington, 53 Wash. L. Rev. 279, 282 n.10 (1978); Rooks, The Blue Sky of Washington: Registration of Securities of a New Venture, 6 Gonz. L. Rev. 187, 188 (1971). To this end, this court has construed the WSSA broadly. See McClellan v. Sundholm, 89 Wn.2d 527, 533, 574 P.2d 371 (1978).

[from Haberman v. Washington Pub. Power Supply Sys., 109 Wn.2d 107,126 159, 744 P.2d 1032 (1988)]