California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has been foiled again in his efforts to wield authority over financial services firms. His 17-month-old case against St. Louis-based brokerage Edward Jones was dismissed by Sacramento Superior Court judge Loren McMaster over a week ago, the Los Angeles Times reported, on grounds that it conflicts with the SEC's mandate to govern securities-related disclosure rules.

While hardly as prolific a crusader as his New York counterpart, Eliot Spitzer, Lockyer has made a bid for runner-up, winning an $18 million settlement against Franklin Resources Inc. and $9 million from PA Distributors Inc after 2004 investigations into the fund companies' sales agreements with brokerages. His record on turf skirmishes, however, isn't looking great: last November, a California state court judge similarly ruled Lockyer lacked jurisdiction to sue Los Angeles-based American Funds over disclosure practices.  

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