Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. (2007)
- Docket
- 06-43
- Decided
- 2007-01-01
Summary
Question: Are claims for deceptive conduct under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 barred by the Court's decision in Central Bank v. First International Bank when the defendant engaged in fraudulent transactions designed to inflate a corporation's financial statements, but made no public statements concerning those transactions? Conclusion: The Court held that, under Central Bank and Section 10(b), securities fraud plaintiffs cannot sue "aiders and abettors" like Scientific-Atlanta. The Court noted Congress' subsequent failure to create a right of private action against aiders and abettors in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act for support of its position that no such right should be allowed in the present case. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented, reading Central Bank as allowing the claim against Scientific-Atlanta because, in this case, it had actually undertaken plainly deceptive acts.