A federal court in California refused to grant a judgment or a new trial to a defendant who was found to have engaged in insider trading when he purchased securities of one company based on material nonpublic information...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery yesterday denied a motion to dismiss a class action alleging that the directors and sponsor of a special-purpose acquisition company (a “SPAC”) breached their fiduciary duties by disloyally...more
1/6/2023
/ Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delaware ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stocks
The SEC prevailed on a motion to dismiss a closely watched lawsuit alleging that the defendant had engaged in insider trading based on news about a not-yet-public corporate acquisition when he purchased securities of a...more
1/20/2022
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Acquisition Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations
The Second Circuit yesterday affirmed the insider-trading conviction of a doctor who, in breach of a confidentiality agreement, had traded on nonpublic information about a drug trial in which he had been participating. The...more
The Second Circuit ruled today that a “meaningfully close personal relationship” is not required for insider-trading liability where a tipper discloses inside information as a gift or in exchange for some other type of...more
The Supreme Court confirmed today that the "personal benefit" required to establish a claim for insider trading can consist of making a gift of material, nonpublic information to a family member or friend and that an exchange...more
12/7/2016
/ Confidential Information ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
On May 26, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that friends’ gifts of wine, steak dinners, and other luxury items can constitute the types of personal benefit needed to establish a breach of duty in...more
5/27/2016
/ Breach of Duty ,
Confidential Information ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Mens Rea ,
Misappropriation ,
Personal Benefit ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
The New York Court of Appeals has followed Delaware in holding that the business-judgment rule applies to going-private mergers as long as certain shareholder-protective measures are met. The court’s May 5, 2016 decision in...more
On January 19, 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's decision concerning the "personal benefit" required to establish a claim for insider trading. The grant of certiorari in...more
On October 5, 2015, the Supreme Court refused to grant review of the Second Circuit’s restrictive insider-trading decision in United States v. Newman. The Government, through the Solicitor General, had asked the Supreme...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appears to have rebuffed aspects of the Second Circuit's recent effort to narrow liability for insider trading. The Ninth Circuit's decision today in United States v. Salman...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently clarified the elements required to hold a tippee liable for insider trading: a tippee cannot be held liable unless the Government proves that the tippee knew both (i)...more