Posts by: Editorial Board

Flash Rules: Is A Wall Street Reform on the Horizon or is the SEC Merely Reacting to the Latest Media Headline?

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Wall Street

Michael Lewis’ new book Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt has caused a commotion on Wall Street, on Capitol Hill, and with law enforcement agencies. The SEC is the latest government agency to examine and propose new rules on alternative exchanges and high-frequency trading. The SEC’s latest proposals and enforcement actions raise questions about the agency’s plans to effectively regulate and enforce these activities and its ability to do so.

In Flash Boys, Michael Lewis—author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and The Big Short—follows a “small group of Wall Street investors” who he says “have figured out that the U.S. stock market has been rigged for the benefit of insiders and that, post-financial crisis, the markets have become not more free but less, and more controlled by the Big Wall Street banks.” High frequency trading is a type of trading using sophisticated technological tools and computer algorithms to rapidly trade securities in fractions of a second to profit from the slightest market blips. High frequency trading is done over traditional exchanges. In contrast, dark pools are alternative electronic trading systems conducted outside traditional exchanges that institutional investors use, sometimes to hide their trading intentions or to move the market with large orders.

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Sheer Yoga Pants and Over-Stretched Allegations: Court Refuses to Stretch Allegations of Corporate Mismanagement into Federal Securities Fraud

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Matrix

A lack of sweaty models trying on yoga pants may be problematic, but does it give rise to securities fraud? Not in the Southern District of New York. In In re lululemon Securities Litigation, decided on April 18, 2014, Judge Katherine B. Forrest dismissed in its entirety a class action complaint against lululemon based on sheer yoga pants alleging violations of Section 10(b) and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5. As summarized by the court, lead plaintiff alleged, “if only lululemon had someone try on its black luon yoga pants before they shipped, it would have realized they were sheer; similarly, if lulumeon had only had someone exercise in certain athletic wear (enough to produce sweat), it would have realized that the colors bled.” Based on these purported shortcomings, plaintiff alleged that statements touting the high quality of the company’s products were materially false and misleading. The court, however, disagreed: “This narrative requires the Court to stretch allegations of, at most, corporate mismanagement into actionable federal securities fraud. This is not the law.” READ MORE →

What’s The Opposite of Rubber Stamping a Settlement? Meet Judge Kane in SEC v. Van Gilder

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Building

Judge John L. Kane of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado is uninterested in oxymoronic gimmicks, that much is clear.  In a fiery April 24, 2014 opinion, Judge Kane rejected settlements between the SEC and two individual defendants in an insider trading case.  Judge Kane evoked—both in style and via explicit citation—Judge Jed Rakoff’s well-known rejection of the proposed settlement in SEC v. Citigroup Global Markets and similarly rejected the proposed settlements because they included numerous “provisions and recitations that [he would] not endorse.”

Judge Kane’s ire was focused on the SEC’s proposed settlement with Michael Van Gilder, the individual who allegedly traded based on inside information in advance of a high-stakes acquisition and tipped friends and family in an email titled “Xmas present.”  The SEC’s proposed settlement with Van Gilder included a permanent injunction prohibiting future violations of Section 10(b) or Rule 10b-5, a $109,265 disgorgement payment (credited in part by a payment already made in a parallel criminal proceeding), and another $109,265 in civil penalties.  The proposal included a number of standard provisions for SEC settlements, including a waiver of the entry of findings of fact and conclusions of law, a waiver of the right to appeal from the entry of final judgment, “a statement that Van Gilder neither admits nor denies the allegations of the Complaint,” and enjoining Van Gilder from future violations of existing statutory law.  Judge Kane decisively rejected each of these in turn. READ MORE →

Update on Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative

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Matrix

On March 10, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that issuers and underwriters of municipal securities may voluntarily report materially inaccurate statements made in offering documents regarding prior continuing disclosure compliance through a program called the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (the “MCDC Initiative”).

Orrick and BLX Group have issued a client alert with key information.

Halliburton’s Brief Asks The U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn The Not So Brief 25-Year-Old Fraud-On-The-Market Presumption

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As discussed in a previous December 3, 2013 post, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Halliburton’s pitch to overrule or modify the decades old fraud-on-the-market presumption established in Basic Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 243-50 (1988).  This theory effectively allows shareholders to bring class action suits under Section 10 of the 1934 Act by presuming that plaintiffs, in purchasing stock in an efficient market, relied on alleged material misstatements made by defendants because such public statements were reflected in the company’s stock prices.

Urging the reversal of Basic, Halliburton filed its opening brief on December 30, 2013, in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, No. 13-317.  Halliburton makes several arguments in its brief in support of overturning Basic, including many familiar legal arguments relating to statutory interpretation, congressional intent and public policy objectives.  Perhaps most interesting, however, is the brief’s focus on the academic literature regarding the economic assumptions underlying Basic that may not be as familiar to practitioners.  Specifically, Halliburton argues that academics have discredited and rejected Basic’s key premise that the market price of shares traded on well-developed markets reflects all publicly available information.  In particular, Halliburton argues that: READ MORE →

The Smack of IndyMac: Second Circuit’s Decision in IndyMac Creates Palpable Effect in SDNY

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As noted in a previous blog, in Police & Fire Retirement Systems of City of Detroit v. IndyMac MBS, Inc., 721 F.3d 95 (2d Cir. 2013), the Second Circuit held that tolling under American Pipe – which plaintiffs had often used to revive claims by relying on earlier-filed class actions – does not apply to statutes of repose, including Section 13 of the ’33 Act.   The significance of IndyMac was felt in New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, et al. v. Residential Capital, et al., No. 08 CV 8781, 08 CV 5093 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 18, 2013), where Hon. Harold Baer, Jr. was asked to reconsider his pre-IndyMac order denying defendants’ motion to dismiss a securities class action involving mortgage-backed securities.  Upon reconsideration, Judge Baer dismissed one of the defendants, Deutsche Securities Inc., and several claims against other defendants, finding that intervening plaintiffs did not have standing to sue because the claims were not filed within the ’33 Act’s three-year statute of repose.  As the case highlights, IndyMac’s effect will continue to be felt in pending cases – Judge Baer held that it should be applied retroactively – and will significantly limit the timing of future lawsuits.

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SAC Pleads Guilty to Five Counts of Securities Fraud; Agrees to Pay Largest Fine in History for Insider Trading Offenses

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Cuffed Hands

SAC Capital Advisors pleaded guilty last Friday to securities fraud claims brought by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.  If approved, the deal would require SAC to pay a $1.2 billion penalty, including a $900 million criminal fine and $284 million civil forfeiture, and to cease operation of its outside investment business.  Appearing on behalf of SAC, Peter Nussbaum, general counsel for the hedge fund, offered the plea of five counts of securities and wire fraud charges based on the allegations that the company allowed rampant insider trading among its employees.  More than merely turning a blind eye, SAC allegedly went out of its way to hire portfolio managers and analysts who had contacts at corporations and failed to monitor and prevent trades based on their inside knowledge.

Mr. Nussbaum expressed “deep remorse” for each individual at SAC who broke the law, taking responsibility for the misconduct which occurred under SAC’s watch.  He also noted that “even one person crossing the line into illegal behavior is too many,” but emphasized that despite the six former employees that SAC admitted engaged in insider trading, “SAC is proud of the thousands of people who have worked at our firm for more than 20 years with integrity and excellence.”  The six former employees, Noah Freeman, Richard Lee, Donald Longueuil, Jon Horvath, Wesley Wang and Richard C.B. Lee, had already pled guilty to insider trading-related claims.  Critics have called for the judge to reject the plea, arguing that SAC has not taken enough responsibility.  Prosecutors have indicated that had the case gone to trial, evidence would have shown that far more than six people were involved in the insider trading there. READ MORE →

Don’t Get Caught In The Crosshairs When The SEC Deploys Its Full Enforcement Arsenal

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On September 26, SEC Chair Mary Jo White gave an important speech to the Council of Institutional Investors in Chicago.  The speech, entitled “Deploying the Full Enforcement Arsenal,” provides the first detailed roadmap to the Commission’s enforcement priorities in the White administration.  While some of the SEC’s enforcement program going forward will involve a continuation and reinforcement of efforts begun during the administration of former Chair Mary Schapiro and former Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami, much of it will entail new initiatives.  The bottom line is that — not surprisingly — Chair White, a former U.S. Attorney, is committed to a vigorous, prosecutorial-minded enforcement program.

Here are the key takeaways from the speech:
Individuals First.  Perhaps most importantly, Chair White stated that the “core principle of any strong enforcement program is to pursue responsible individuals wherever possible.”  Accordingly, she has “made it clear that the staff should look hard to see whether a case against individuals can be brought.  I want to be sure we are looking first at the individual conduct and working out to the entity, rather than starting with the entity as a whole and working in.”  She also indicated that the Commission is likely to seek more industry and officer-and-director bars against individuals.  Chair White described this focus on individuals first as a “subtle” shift in approach, but it is one that, if followed in practice, will have significant consequences, particularly when paired with some of the other initiatives described below. READ MORE →

The Meaning of Life Settlements: Are They Securities Or Not?

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People at a Table

“Life settlements” are financial transactions in which the original owner of a life insurance policy sells it to a third party for an up front, lump sum payment.  The amount paid for the policy is less than the death benefit on the policy, yet greater than the amount the policyholder would otherwise receive from an insurance company if the policyholder were to surrender the policy for its cash value.  For the life settlement investor that buys the policy, the anticipated return is the difference between the death benefit and the purchase price plus the amount paid in premiums to keep the policy in force until the death benefit is payable.

Some commentators have deemed life settlements as essentially a “bet” on the life of the insured.  The longer the insured lives, the lower the rate of return on the investment.  Critics of life settlements are quick to point out that investors have a financial interest in the early demise of the insured person.  The life settlement industry has been subject to extensive litigation for several years.

An important and as yet unsettled question is whether life settlements are “securities” as defined under federal and state securities law.  This basic question has important ramifications for how life settlement contracts will be treated by courts and regulators. READ MORE →

Tell One, Tell All, The Risks of Selective Disclosure

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People at a Table

On September 6, 2013, the SEC charged the former head of investor relations at First Solar Inc., an Arizona-based solar company, with violating Regulation FD, which is designed to prevent issuers from selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to certain market participants before disclosing the information to the general public.  In this matter, the SEC determined that Lawrence D. Polizzotto violated Regulation FD when he indicated in “one-on-one” phone conversations with about 20 sell-side analysts and institutional investors that the company was unlikely to receive a much anticipated loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.  When First Solar disclosed the same information the following morning in a press release, the company’s stock dropped 6 percent.  In addition to a cease-and-desist order, Polizzotto agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the SEC’s charges.   The SEC determined not to bring an enforcement action against First Solar, due in part to the company’s “extraordinary cooperation” with the investigation.

The Polizzotto action is noteworthy for several reasons.  First, is the contrast between that action and the only Regulation FD case to go to litigation.  In June 2004, the SEC filed a civil action against Siebel Systems, Inc. for violating Regulation FD and an earlier SEC cease-and-desist order, and against two of the company’s senior executives for allegedly aiding and abetting Siebel’s violations.  The alleged violations were very similar to those alleged against Polizzotto:  in both cases, the SEC alleged that the company, through its executives, violated Regulation FD by selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to analysts and favored investors in one-on-one meetings before disclosing it publicly.  There were, however, several differences in the facts of the two matters.  In the Siebel matter, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the nonpublic statements made at the one-on-one meetings were not material because they did not add to, contradict, or significantly alter the information that the company had previously made available to the general public.  Although not literally the same as the public statements, the court found that the private statements generally conveyed the same material information.  On the other hand, the SEC deemed that Polizzotto’s statements provided new information about the status of the loan guarantees for one of company’s major projects, even though a letter from a Congressional committee to the Energy Department about the loan guarantee program and the status of conditional commitments, including three involving First Solar, had already caused concern within the solar industry about whether the Energy Department would be able to move forward with its conditional commitments.  The final blow to Polizzotto may have been First Solar’s recognition of the significance of private statements to analysts and particular investors about the loss of the loan guarantee.  For example, a company lawyer had specifically advised that, in discussing this development, the company would “be restricted by Regulation FD in any [sic] answering questions asked by analysts, investors, etc. until such time that we do issue a press release or post to our website….”  Thus, despite the fact that the court in the Siebel Systems action did not consider an 8 percent stock price movement following public disclosure to be material, the SEC here considered the 6 percent stock price movement to be material. READ MORE →