Docket nos. 06-43 | Date decided 2008 | |
Full case name Stoneridge Investment Partners, L.L.C., Petitioner v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., et al. Citations 552 U.S. 148 (more)128 S. Ct. 761; 169 L. Ed. 2d 627; 2008 U.S. LEXIS 1091; 76 U.S.L.W. 4039; Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) P94,556; 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 46 Majority Kennedy, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito Dissent Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg Similar Basic Inc v Levinson, Medellín v Texas, Boumediene v Bush, Griswold v Connecticut | ||
Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, 552 U.S. 148 (2008), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court pertaining to the scope of liability of secondary actors, such as lawyers and accountants, for securities fraud under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In a 5-3 decision authored by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Court held that "aiders and abettors" of fraud cannot be held secondarily liable under the private right of action authorized by §10(b) of the Exchange Act. Such defendants can only be held liable if their own conduct satisfies each of the elements for §10(b) liability. Therefore, the plaintiff must prove reliance, in making a decision to acquire or hold a security, upon a material misrepresentation or omission by the defendant.
Stoneridge was recognized by The New York Times as the “most important securities fraud case in years,” and also commented by Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Business Week.