Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/35/1407/605404/
Timestamp: 2018-12-11 08:56:01
Document Index: 781583571

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 77', '§ 77', '§ 77', '§ 771', '§ 78', '§ 77']

In Re Worlds of Wonder Securities Litigation.rosetta Miller; Walter Untermeyer; Alan Nisselson; Trudywhitman Nisselson; Paul Greenstein; Howard H. Weston, Astrustee for the Florida Municipal, Inc., Restated Definedbenefit Trust and Plan; Sylvia Wind, on Behalf Ofthemselves and the Certified Class of Purchasers Ofsecurities of Worlds of Wonder, Inc., Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Angelo M. Pezzani; Donald D. Kingsborough; Richard B.stein; John B. Howenstine; Barry H. Margolis; Deloitte &touche; Smith Barney, Harris, Upham & Co.; Dean Witterreynolds, Inc.; Josephine E. Abercrombie; Worlds of Wondershares Partnership; Robinson Interests, Inc., Defendants-appellees, 35 F.3d 1407 (9th Cir. 1994) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Ninth Circuit › 1994 › In Re Worlds of Wonder Securities Litigation.rosetta Miller; Walter Untermeyer; Alan Nisselson; Trud...
In Re Worlds of Wonder Securities Litigation.rosetta Miller; Walter Untermeyer; Alan Nisselson; Trudywhitman Nisselson; Paul Greenstein; Howard H. Weston, Astrustee for the Florida Municipal, Inc., Restated Definedbenefit Trust and Plan; Sylvia Wind, on Behalf Ofthemselves and the Certified Class of Purchasers Ofsecurities of Worlds of Wonder, Inc., Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Angelo M. Pezzani; Donald D. Kingsborough; Richard B.stein; John B. Howenstine; Barry H. Margolis; Deloitte &touche; Smith Barney, Harris, Upham & Co.; Dean Witterreynolds, Inc.; Josephine E. Abercrombie; Worlds of Wondershares Partnership; Robinson Interests, Inc., Defendants-appellees, 35 F.3d 1407 (9th Cir. 1994)
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 35 F.3d 1407 (9th Cir. 1994)
Argued and Submitted Aug. 10, 1994. Decided Sept. 15, 1994
After a tortured five years of proceedings,1 the district court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants in an exhaustive opinion. See In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 814 F. Supp. 850 (N.D. Cal. 1993) [WOW ]. The court held that (1) with the possible exception of the audited 1987 financial statements, the Debenture Prospectus fully disclosed the risks of investing in WOW and that, as a result, under the "bespeaks caution" doctrine the document was not false or misleading as a matter of law; (2) even if the 1987 financial statements were false or misleading, all defendants had established affirmative defenses to section 11 liability; and (3) the plaintiffs had not established that any defendant acted with scienter sufficient to attach liability under section 10(b).
We conduct de novo review of the district court's grant of summary judgment. E.g., Morris v. Newman (In re Convergent Technologies Sec. Litig.), 948 F.2d 507, 512 (9th Cir. 1991). In so doing, we are mindful that, " [a]lthough materiality and scienter are both fact-specific issues which should ordinarily be left to the trier of fact, summary judgment may be granted in appropriate cases. Summary judgment may be defeated in a securities fraud derivative suit only by showing a genuine issue of fact with regard to a particular statement by the company or its insiders." Hanon v. Dataproducts Corp., 976 F.2d 497, 500 (9th Cir. 1992) (citations and quotations omitted).
We turn first to the plaintiffs' claims against the Officers, the Directors, Smith Barney, and Deloitte under section 11 of the 1933 Act, which creates a private right of action in favor of securities purchasers who rely upon a materially false or misleading prospectus. See 15 U.S.C. § 77k(a). The district court held that (1) except for possible errors in the certified 1987 financial statements that were appended to the document, "there are no statements in, or omissions from, the Debenture Prospectus that would give rise to an inference that any part of the document was false or misleading," WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 866, and (2) even assuming that the 1987 financial statements were false or misleading, each defendant had established an affirmative defense to section 11 liability as a matter of law.
"The bespeaks caution doctrine provides a mechanism by which a court can rule as a matter of law (typically in a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action or a motion for summary judgment) that defendants' forward-looking representations contained enough cautionary language or risk disclosure to protect the defendant against claims of securities fraud." Donald C. Langevoort, Disclosures that "Bespeak Caution", 49 Bus.Law. 481, 482-83 (1994) [Disclosures ]. At least six circuits have adopted some form of the doctrine. See Rubinstein v. Collins, 20 F.3d 160, 166-68 (5th Cir. 1994); Kaufman v. Trump's Castle Funding (In re Donald J. Trump Casino Sec. Litig.), 7 F.3d 357, 371-73 (3d Cir. 1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S. Ct. 1219, 127 L. Ed. 2d 565 (1994); Moorhead v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 949 F.2d 243, 245-46 (8th Cir. 1991); Sinay v. Lamson & Sessions Co., 948 F.2d 1037, 1040 (6th Cir. 1991); I. Meyer Pincus & Assocs. v. Oppenheimer & Co., 936 F.2d 759, 763 (2d Cir. 1991); Romani v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, 929 F.2d 875, 879 (1st Cir. 1991). Moreover, since the district court's opinion in this case, several trial courts in this circuit have also embraced the doctrine. See In re Quarterdeck Office Sys., Inc. Sec. Litig., 854 F. Supp. 1466, 1471 (C.D. Cal. 1994); Forrester v. Microtest, Inc., 1993 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 98,072, 1993 WL 616688 (D. Ariz. 1993); In re Allergan Inc. Sec. Litig., 1993 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 98,066, 1993 WL 623321 (C.D. Cal. 1993); cf. Wade v. Industrial Funding Corp., 1993 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 98,144, 1993 WL 650837 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (recognizing the doctrine but holding it inapplicable to the facts of the case); Anderson v. Clow, 1993 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 97,807, 1993 WL 497212 (S.D. Cal. 1993) (same).
Rubinstein, 20 F.3d at 167 (footnotes omitted). Accord Trump Casino, 7 F.3d at 364 (" [The doctrine] represents new nomenclature rather than substantive change in the law."); see generally Disclosures, 46 Bus.Law. at 487 (explaining materiality and reliance components of the doctrine).
In this light, the district court's measured application of the bespeaks caution doctrine was entirely consistent with the above-noted authority and established Ninth Circuit precedent. See McGonigle v. Combs, 968 F.2d 810, 817 (9th Cir.) (affirming summary judgment in favor of defendants where "no rational jury could find the comparative figures [in the prospectus] to have been material in light of their openly hypothetical nature and the specific disclaimers" in the document), cert. dismissed, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 399, 121 L. Ed. 2d 325 (1992); Convergent Technologies, 948 F.2d at 515, 516 (holding that a prospectus was not materially misleading because it "virtually overflows with ... repeated emphasis of significant risk factors"); cf. Trump Casino, 7 F.3d at 371 (interpreting Convergent Technologies as "applying but not explicitly referring to the bespeaks caution doctrine"); Moorhead, 949 F.2d at 246 (same).
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 858 (citations and quotations omitted); see Kline v. First W. Gov't Sec., Inc., 24 F.3d 480, 489 (3d Cir. 1994) ("application of the 'bespeaks caution' doctrine ... requires that the language bespeaking caution relate directly to that to which plaintiffs claim to have been misled"). As a result, notwithstanding the plaintiffs' shrill arguments to the contrary, the court's context-specific approach entirely comports with Virginia Bankshares, Inc. v. Sandberg, 501 U.S. 1083, 111 S. Ct. 2749, 115 L. Ed. 2d 929 (1991), in which the Supreme Court noted that " [w]hile a misleading statement will not always lose its deceptive edge simply by joinder with others that are true, the true statements may discredit the other one so obviously that the risk of real deception drops to nil.... [Therefore,] publishing accurate facts ... can render a misleading proposition too unimportant to ground liability," id. at 1097, 111 S. Ct. at 2760-61; see Rubinstein, 20 F.3d at 167-68 & nn. 26-27; Trump Casino, 7 F.3d at 372-73 & nn. 14-16 ("we believe that our approach comports with the Supreme Court's reasoning in Virginia Bankshares "); Mayer v. Mylod, 988 F.2d 635, 639 (6th Cir. 1993) ("Virginia Bankshares contemplates a weighing of the true with the untrue statements ... for liability to result").
In our view, the bespeaks caution doctrine helps "to minimize the chance that a plaintiff with a largely groundless claim will bring a suit and conduct extensive discovery in the hopes of obtaining an increased settlement." Romani, 929 F.2d at 878 (quotation omitted); see generally Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores, 421 U.S. 723, 740, 95 S. Ct. 1917, 1927-28, 44 L. Ed. 2d 539 (1975) ("in the field of federal securities laws governing disclosure of information [,] even a complaint which by objective standards may have very little chance of success at trial has a settlement value to the plaintiff out of any proportion to its prospect of success at trial so long as [the plaintiff] may prevent the suit from being resolved against him by dismissal or summary judgment"). Therefore, because it is consistent both with precedent from this circuit and with well-settled principles of securities law articulated by courts across the country, we adopt the district court's formulation of the doctrine.3
After reviewing the document, the district court concluded that the prospectus "clearly bespoke caution on the serious risks WOW's liquidity crisis posed to investors.... Plaintiffs are not entitled to an inference that they were misled in the face of such disclosures." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 866. We agree.
The plaintiffs contend that, in fact, WOW's internal controls at the time of the offering had "crippling deficiencies" and that "no reasonable investor reading the Prospectus would have concluded that there were any existing problems with controls." The district court disagreed: "Plaintiffs ignore the fact that the Prospectus included an express disclaimer that 'there can be no assurances' that WOW's existing internal controls would continue to be adequate given the rapid pace at which the company was growing. The Prospectus made no predictions to the contrary. Thus, the Prospectus adequately bespoke caution regarding this potential risk to WOW's investors. As a matter of law, Plaintiffs cannot have been misled." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 865. This conclusion is correct for several reasons. First, contrary to the plaintiffs' assertions, the Debenture Prospectus did not state or imply that WOW's internal control problems were "in the past" and not ongoing. Rather, the prospectus clearly warned that the company's attempt to improve internal controls could prove to be inadequate. Second, the plaintiffs presented no evidence that WOW's internal controls at the time of the offering were materially deficient. Indeed, the allegedly "devastating" management letter issued by Deloitte (two-and-a-half months after the Debenture Offering) concluded that, although "significant problems" existed, WOW's internal controls had no material weaknesses. And, third, WOW probably would not have needed to disclose even serious internal-control deficiencies. Cf. Monroe v. Hughes, 31 F.3d 772, 776 (9th Cir. 1994) (holding that an auditor need not disclose internal controls).
The argument regarding price protection and stock balancing is without merit for several reasons. First, the plaintiffs introduced "no evidence that, at the time of the Debenture offering, WOW's management could have foreseen that WOW would have to reduce prices to [the extent it actually did so in late 1987]. Thus, the alleged practice of price protection did not pose a foreseeable risk to WOW's investors at the time of the Debenture offering, so WOW had no duty to disclose it." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 865. The speculative impact of future exchanges and price reductions was not material. See Hanon, 976 F.2d at 506 ("potential action to be taken sometime in the distant future is not an item appropriately made a part of a public disclosure because of its speculativeness"). And, second, the plaintiffs concede that price protection is a common practice in the toy industry. The undisputed evidence also indicates that stock balancing is commonplace in the industry. As a result, WOW had no duty to disclose its observance of those practices. See Hanon, 976 F.2d at 505 (no duty to disclose a "known condition"); Convergent Technologies, 948 F.2d at 513 (no duty to disclose a risk "the market clearly understood"); Schneider v. Vennard (In re Apple Computer Sec. Litig.), 886 F.2d 1109, 1119 (9th Cir. 1989) (no duty to disclose the fact that buyers could cancel orders at will because "it was well understood within the investment community that computer orders are 'soft' "), cert. denied, 496 U.S. 943, 110 S. Ct. 3229, 110 L. Ed. 2d 676 (1990); Vaughn v. Teledyne, Inc., 628 F.2d 1214, 1220 (9th Cir. 1980) (" [i]t is not a violation of any securities laws to fail to disclose a result that is obvious").
Although a slightly closer call, the plaintiffs' contention regarding guaranteed sales fares no better. We agree that a company that "substantially overstate [s] its revenues by reporting consignment transactions as sales ... mak [es] false or misleading statements of material fact." Malone v. Microdyne Corp., 26 F.3d 471, 478 (4th Cir. 1994). And we acknowledge that the plaintiffs did present some evidence that WOW engaged in guaranteed sales prior to the Debenture Offering, particularly in the final quarter of fiscal 1987.
The evidence indicates, however, that Deloitte analyzed WOW's sales practices and concluded that, " [w]hile it is true that on a few occasions prior to the 1987 audit, WOW made the business decision to permit customers to return or exchange nondefective products, these returns were minimal in number, and did not have a material impact on WOW's financial statements taken as a whole." As the district court noted, " [j]ust because some of WOW's customers were allowed a refund does not mean that ... WOW had a practice of offering guaranteed sales to all its customers. Giving an unsatisfied customer a refund is a normal business method of dealing with an unsatisfied customer. It is not a violation of securities laws for WOW to fail to disclose such an obvious practice to potential investors." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 862.
The plaintiffs' evidence of guaranteed sales is speculative, nebulous, and nowhere purports to quantify the degree to which WOW engaged in this "normal business" practice. As such, it does not rise to the level of a material omission. Cf. Malone, 26 F.3d at 478 (expert testimony specifically indicated that the company's undisclosed consignment sales accounted for thirteen percent of total revenue and made financial statements "not only misleading, but misleading in a material way"). The plaintiffs cannot defeat summary judgment merely by accusing WOW of trying to post favorable financial figures. See Convergent Technologies, 948 F.2d at 515 (" [P]laintiffs do not explain why [the issuer] would want to exclude such [one-time] sales. Plaintiffs suggest [the issuer] made the sales in the fourth quarter to post better numbers on its year-end financials and thus further its scheme to inflate its stock price. Plaintiffs provide no evidence to support this suggestion."); Vaughn, 628 F.2d at 1221 ("Corporate officials are under no duty to disclose their precise motive or purpose for engaging in a particular course of action, so long as the motive is not manipulative or deceptive").
First, as Smith Barney explains, " [t]he only reasonable reading [of the prospectus] is that, in light of the lower first quarter sales and the higher first quarter operating expenses the company was then expecting, WOW's net loss ... was expected to constitute a 'greater proportion' of net revenue than ... during the first quarter of 1987." The prospectus did not imply that WOW's first quarter 1988 losses would be proportional to its first quarter 1987 losses.
Second, the prospectus clearly warned that WOW expected lower net sales. WOW was under no duty to disclose the precise extent of the anticipated revenue drop. See Backman v. Polaroid Corp., 910 F.2d 10, 16 (1st Cir. 1990) (en banc) ("Disclosing that [a product] was being sold below cost was not misleading by reason of not disclosing how much below."). The plaintiffs complain that the prospectus failed to disclose the extent to which first quarter sales lagged behind WOW's internal projections. The quarter, however, was not yet complete; had WOW actually disclosed its internal business plan, the plaintiffs probably would now be contending that no basis existed for such a prediction. Cf. Convergent Technologies, 948 F.2d at 516 ("It is just good general business practice to make ... projections for internal corporate use. There is no evidence, however, that the estimates were made with such reasonable certainty even to allow them to be disclosed to the public.") (quotation omitted).
The plaintiffs also argue that the Debenture Prospectus violated section 11 by failing generally to reveal "WOW's crisis of sales and demand." The district court disagreed: "Plaintiffs submit no admissible evidence to show that WOW's sales had decreased so dramatically at the time of the Debenture offering that WOW's management could have known about, and thus would have had a duty to disclose, the impending collapse of Lazer Tag sales. Plaintiffs cannot use the benefit of 20-20 hindsight to turn management's business judgment into securities fraud." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 865. We agree.
Just four days prior to the Debenture Offering, WOW commenced a production schedule implementing the corporation's optimistic business plan, which projected $542 million in sales. As the Officers note, if demand actually had dried up, the " [p]laintiffs cannot explain why WOW's entire senior and middle management would have lied to themselves about the Company's business outlook." See Apple Computer, 886 F.2d at 1117 (" [the corporation]'s massive investment in [a new product] demonstrates this good faith" belief that it will succeed). The plaintiffs presented no admissible evidence to the contrary.4 In sum, their argument distills to a contention that WOW should have predicted the collapse in sales that occurred in late 1987, long after the Debenture Offering. The corporation had no duty to do so. See VeriFone, 11 F.3d at 869 ("These alleged nondisclosures are, in substance, failures to make a forecast of future events. Put another way, what the complaint states is that [the issuer] omitted to state the 'fact' that future prospects were not as bright as past performance. Absent allegations that [the issuer] withheld financial data or other existing facts from which forecasts are typically derived, the alleged omissions are not of material, actual facts. Therefore, the forecasts need not have been disclosed, and the failure to make the omitted forecasts did not render the other statements that were made misleading."). We affirm the district court on this point.
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 873. We affirm the district court's summary judgment in favor of the defendants regarding the textual part of the Debenture Prospectus.
As noted above, the district court recognized that the " [p]laintiffs allege numerous errors in the financial statements for 1987, included in the back pages of the Debenture Prospectus," WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 864 (footnote omitted), and, as a result, decided to "conserv [e] judicial resources by assuming arguendo that the statements are in error, because summary judgment for defendants is clearly appropriate on other grounds," id. at 867 n. 13. We conclude that the "other grounds" on which the district court relied were sufficient to support summary judgment for all defendants except Deloitte.
Because the audited 1987 financial statements were "certified" by Deloitte within the meaning of section 11, every defendant other than the auditor can escape section 11 liability for the statements by establishing that they "had no reasonable ground to believe and did not believe ... that the ["expertised"] statements therein were untrue or that there was an omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading." 15 U.S.C. § 77k(b) (3) (C). E.g., In re Software Toolworks, Inc. Sec. Litig., 789 F. Supp. 1489, 1498 (N.D. Cal. 1992), appeal dismissed, 16 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir. 1994). The district court held that all defendants had proven this "reliance" defense:
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 863-64. We agree.
As the court recognized, " [p]laintiffs have admitted that WOW's management made full disclosure to Deloitte of all relevant information regarding the questioned transactions." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 864. After disclosing the nature of the transactions, the defendants relied on Deloitte's accounting decisions (to permit revenue recognition) about the sales. Those expert decisions, which underlie the plaintiffs' attack on the financial statements, represent precisely the type of "certified" information on which section 11 permits non-experts to rely. See Software Toolworks, 789 F. Supp. at 1498 ("Given the complexity of the accounting issues, the Underwriters were entitled to rely on Deloitte's expertise.").
Damages for a Section 11 violation are measured by the difference between the amount paid for the security and its price at either the time it was sold or the date the Section 11 claim was filed. See 15 U.S.C. § 77k(e). Section 11(e), however, provides that:
[I]f the defendant proves that any portion or all of such damages represents other than the depreciation in value ... resulting from such part of the registration statement [ ] with respect to which his liability is being asserted, ... such portion or all of such damages shall not be recoverable.
Id. The defendant has the burden of proof on this defense. Id. Though it has been recognized by courts as a "heavy burden," it is not insurmountable, and courts have awarded summary judgment to the defendant in appropriate cases. See In re Fortune Sys. Sec. Litig., 680 F. Supp. 1360, 1364-65 (N.D. Cal. 1987).
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 866-67. Because this analysis is based upon the faulty premise that Deloitte's alleged errors needed to be disclosed to the market before section 11 liability could attach, we reverse the summary judgment on this issue.
To establish a "loss causation" defense under section 11(e), Deloitte needed to prove "that the depreciation in value [of the debentures] resulted from factors other than the [alleged] material misstatement in the [1987 financial] statement." Akerman v. Oryx Communications, Inc., 810 F.2d 336, 340 (2d Cir. 1987). Accord, e.g., Fortune Sys., 680 F. Supp. at 1364. The district court concluded that Deloitte met this burden by showing that WOW never disclosed to the market the fact that the 1987 financial statements contained material errors. This analysis was, quite simply, far too narrow.
Loss causation exists where "the misrepresentation touches upon the reasons for the investment's decline in value." McGonigle, 968 F.2d at 821 (emphasis added) (quotation omitted) (section 10(b) case). Accord, e.g., Fortune Sys., 680 F. Supp. at 1365 (section 11 case); see generally Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Vigman, 908 F.2d 1461, 1468 (9th Cir. 1990) ("what securities lawyers call 'loss causation' is the standard common law fraud rule" of "proximate causation") (quotation omitted) (section 10(b) case), rev'd on other grounds, --- U.S. ----, 112 S. Ct. 1311, 117 L. Ed. 2d 532 (1992); cf. Arthur Young & Co. v. Reves, 937 F.2d 1310, 1332 (8th Cir. 1991) ("all the Class needed to show [to establish 'loss causation'] was that the [issuer]'s bankruptcy was somehow 'related' to Arthur Young's nondisclosure") (emphasis added) (section 10(b) case), aff'd, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 1163, 122 L. Ed. 2d 525 (1993). The district court's application of section 11(e) ignores the broad nature of the "loss causation" determination. Indeed, the plaintiffs rightly note that, if correct, " [t]he district court's interpretation would eviscerate the statute. Companies and their auditors could immunize themselves from Sec. 11 liability for false and even fraudulent financial statements simply by refusing to admit their falsity (or refusing to include in their adverse public disclosures information that would 'clue in the market' to their falsity) prior to the time a Sec. 11 suit is filed."
The plaintiffs asserted claims against Smith Barney under section 12(2) of the 1933 Act, which imposes additional liability on parties who sell securities with a false or misleading prospectus. See 15 U.S.C. § 771(2). The district court concluded that the plaintiffs' claims were meritless:
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 867-68. We agree.
Regarding the 1987 financial statements, we conclude that the plaintiffs waived their right to appeal the district court's determination that Smith Barney established a "due diligence" defense. In their eighty-page opening brief, the plaintiffs' only reference to section 12(2) was in a footnote, alleging that " [a]ll arguments asserted herein with respect to the Sec. 11 claim against Smith Barney are applicable to the Sec. 12(2) ... claims against this defendant." Nowhere in their brief, however, did the plaintiffs discuss "due diligence." Indeed, even in their reply brief, the plaintiffs only mentioned due diligence with regard to the "textual parts of the Prospectus" and not with regard to the 1987 financial statements. This lack of argument waives an appeal of the issue. E.g., Officers For Justice v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 979 F.2d 721, 726 (9th Cir. 1992) ("We will not ordinarily consider matters on appeal that are not specifically and distinctly raised and argued in appellant's opening brief.") (quotation omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S. Ct. 1645, 123 L. Ed. 2d 267 (1993).
Finally, the plaintiffs asserted claims against all defendants under section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the 1934 Act, which provide liability for deceptive conduct in connection with the sale of securities. See 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b); 17 C.F.R. Sec. 240.10b-5. To establish section 10(b) liability, the plaintiffs must show that the defendants acted with scienter, "a mental state embracing intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud." Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425 U.S. 185, 194 n. 12, 96 S. Ct. 1375, 1381 n. 12, 47 L. Ed. 2d 668 (1976); see Hollinger v. Titan Capital Corp., 914 F.2d 1564, 1569-70 (9th Cir. 1990) (en banc) (holding that recklessness constitutes scienter under section 10(b)), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 976, 111 S. Ct. 1621, 113 L. Ed. 2d 719 (1991).
The district court held that the plaintiffs had no section 10(b) claims based on the textual part of the prospectus because, "as a matter of law, there are no misleading statements in, or material omissions from, the Debenture Prospectus, aside from possible errors by Deloitte in the 1987 financial statements." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 869. Because the standard of materiality is the same under section 10(b) as it is under section 11, e.g., VeriFone, 11 F.3d at 868-69, we affirm this conclusion for the reasons stated above.
The plaintiffs, however, also asserted section 10(b) claims based "on alleged fraudulent conduct by [some] defendants other than the [textual part of the] prospectuses." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 869. The district court held that summary judgment was appropriate for all defendants on these claims because the plaintiffs could not establish scienter.
... Plaintiffs allege in conclusory fashion that the Officer Defendants violated Rule 10b-5 by misleading "press releases, filings with the SEC, statements to analysts, etc." The Officers Defendants ['] overall pattern of conduct, though, rebuts any inference of knowing or reckless conduct on their part. If WOW's officers were bent on committing fraud, it is not likely that they would have provided such detailed risk disclosure in the prospectuses. Furthermore, if, as Plaintiffs allege, the Officers knew that WOW was heading for financial disaster, they probably would have bailed out of their substantial holdings. Each of the Officer Defendants, by contrast, held onto most of their WOW stock and incurred the same large losses as did the Plaintiffs themselves....
The plaintiffs produced no direct evidence of any scienter on the part of the Officers. Rather, the plaintiffs seek to rely on speculative inferences that arise from the Officers' allegedly suspicious conduct. The Officers, however, conclusively rebutted any such inference that might have been permissible. See generally DiLeo v. Ernst & Young, 901 F.2d 624, 627 (7th Cir.) ("The story in this complaint is familiar in securities litigation. At one time the firm bathes itself in a favorable light. Later the firm discloses that things are less rosy. The plaintiff contends that the difference must be attributable to fraud.... Because only a fraction of financial deteriorations reflects fraud, [however,] plaintiffs may not proffer the different financial statements and rest. Investors must point to some facts suggesting that the difference is attributable to fraud."), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 941, 111 S. Ct. 347, 112 L. Ed. 2d 312 (1990).
The detailed risk disclosure in the Debenture Prospectus negates an inference of scienter. E.g., Ferber v. Travelers Corp., 802 F. Supp. 698, 714 (D. Conn. 1992) ("defendants' provision of adverse information to the public by way of disclosures negates an inference that they acted with an inten [t] to defraud") (quotation omitted); see also DiLeo, 901 F.2d at 629 ("People sometimes act irrationally, but indulging inferences of irrationality would too easily allow the inference that ordinary business reverses are fraud. One who believes that another has behaved irrationally has to make a strong case."). Similarly, the Officers' minimal sales of stock also negates an inference of scienter. See Apple Computer, 886 F.2d at 1117 ("credible and wholly innocent explanations for the stock sales ... are sufficient to defeat any inference of bad faith").
Plaintiffs respond ... with the declaration of [alleged expert] Albert Rossi.... Rossi's testimony, in substance, is that for everything Deloitte's accountants did, he would have done more, and that in his opinion, the revenues were improperly recognized under GAAP. Rossi concludes that " [t]he danger that Deloitte's audit opinion and the financial statements which Deloitte audited would mislead investors was so obvious that in my opinion, Deloitte must have been aware of it."
As a general rule, summary judgment is inappropriate where an expert's testimony supports the non-moving party's case. Apple Computer, 886 F.2d at 1116. "However, where the evidence is as clear as that in this record, the court is not required to defer to the contrary opinion of plaintiffs' 'expert.' " Id. An expert's conclusory allegations that a defendant acted with scienter are insufficient to defeat summary judgment where the record clearly rebuts any inference of bad faith. See Software Toolworks, 789 F. Supp. at 1504 n. 30.
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 870-71. We agree.
In essence, the plaintiffs concede that Deloitte made a sufficient investigation into WOW's finances but contend that Deloitte's ultimate resolution of the accounting issues regarding those finances was incorrect. That contention is not sufficient to establish scienter. " [T]he mere publication of inaccurate accounting figures, or a failure to follow GAAP, without more, does not establish scienter." Malone, 26 F.3d at 479 (quotation omitted). Accord, e.g., Vosgerichian v. Commodore Int'l, 832 F. Supp. 909, 915 n. 8 (E.D. Pa. 1993) ("The ... complaint charges that [the accountants] ... violated GAAP and GAAS, but clearly, even deliberate violations of those guidelines, without more, do not amount to fraud.") (collecting cases).
" [Scienter] requires more than a misapplication of accounting principles. The [plaintiff] must prove that the accounting practices were so deficient that the audit amounted to no audit at all, or an egregious refusal to see the obvious, or to investigate the doubtful, or that the accounting judgments which were made were such that no reasonable accountant would have made the same decisions if confronted with the same facts." SEC v. Price Waterhouse, 797 F. Supp. 1217, 1240 (S.D.N.Y. 1992) (citations, quotations, and footnote omitted). As a result, Deloitte's evidence indicating that the accounting decisions were reasonable negates the plaintiffs' attempt to establish scienter. See id. at 1241 (" [The disputed] items involved complex issues of accounting as to which reasonable accountants could reach different conclusions. Indeed, ... the Court heard diametrically opposing views from experts as to the reasonableness of [the] accounting and audit judgments. It follows that no finding of fraud or recklessness can rationally be made in this case."); Software Toolworks, 789 F. Supp. at 1504 & n. 30 ("Plaintiffs ... second guess Deloitte's decision that a 44% reserve was appropriate--this is not enough to infer scienter in this case.... Nor are Plaintiffs' expert's conclusory statements sufficient to defeat summary judgment."); cf. Fine v. American Solar King Corp., 919 F.2d 290, 296-98 (5th Cir. 1990) (triable issue regarding scienter exists where plaintiffs directly established that accountants knew they had violated GAAP by issuing false statements), cert. dismissed, --- U.S. ----, 112 S. Ct. 576, 116 L. Ed. 2d 601 (1991).
Rossi's conclusory allegations do not change this analysis. In sum, his declaration consists of self-righteous statements that, because Deloitte did not audit WOW as he would have done, Deloitte must have acted fraudulently. Such evidence is not sufficient. See WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 871 n. 15 ("this is not the first time that a district court has awarded summary judgment to an auditor on the scienter issue in the face of a declaration by Rossi"); Software Toolworks, 789 F. Supp. at 1504-10 (same).7
Finally, the plaintiffs argue that the Directors and the Shareholders violated section 10(b) by selling WOW securities with knowledge of undisclosed adverse, material information. A private right of action for insider trading exists under section 10(b) for persons who traded contemporaneously with the insider. E.g., Neubronner v. Milken, 6 F.3d 666, 670 (9th Cir. 1993). To establish section 10(b) liability, however, the plaintiffs must prove that the insider traders acted with scienter. E.g., Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646, 663 & n. 23, 103 S. Ct. 3255, 3266 & n. 23, 77 L. Ed. 2d 911 (1983). The district court exhaustively explained why the plaintiffs had not done so in this case:
WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 871-72. We agree.
Even if the evidence was sufficient to permit an inference that one or more of the defendants had access to inside information, the defendants' actual trading would conclusively rebut an inference of scienter. Director Margolis, several other partners in WOW Shares Partnership, and shareholder Robinson Interests sold their shares pursuant to a predetermined plan in accordance with SEC Rule 144. Robinson Interests, moreover, "sold its shares because it faced a pressing need to service a huge debt incurred from overinvesting in real estate." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 872 n. 17. Other WOW Shares partners "who supposedly possessed inside information did not sell at all." Id. at 872. Director Howenstein "sold only 50,000 shares before WOW's bankruptcy, though he possessed over 970,000" shares at the time of the bankruptcy. Id. Shareholder Abercrombie started selling WOW shares (to raise cash for real estate improvements) after the announcement of large quarterly losses and, in total, still held onto eighty-six percent of her WOW stock (2,870,000 shares) at the time the corporation filed for bankruptcy.
" [This] pattern of stock trading ... is insufficient to raise an issue for the jury.... Uncontradicted deposition testimony ... provided credible and wholly innocent explanations for the stock sales, ranging from long-standing programs of periodic divestment, to the need to free cash to meet matured tax liabilities. These unrebutted explanations are sufficient to defeat any inference of bad faith." Apple Computer, 886 F.2d at 1117. See, e.g., Freeman v. Decio, 584 F.2d 186, 197 n. 44 (7th Cir. 1978) ("inference [of scienter] can be nullified by a showing that sales in question were consistent in timing and amount with a past pattern of sales or that other circumstances might reasonably account for their occurrence").
See In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 694 F. Supp. 1427 (N.D. Cal. 1988) (dismissing plaintiffs' complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)) [WOW I]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 721 F. Supp. 1140 (N.D. Cal. 1989) (dismissing in part plaintiffs' amended complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) (6)) [WOW II]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 1989-90 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 95,004, 1990 WL 61951 (N.D. Cal. 1990) (certifying plaintiffs' class as those who purchased WOW securities between June 20, 1986 and November 9, 1987) [WOW III]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec.Litig., 1990 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 95,689, 1990 WL 260675 (N.D. Cal. 1990) (denying Shareholders' initial motion for summary judgment on the insider trading claims) [WOW IV]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 1992 Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (CCH) p 97,018, 1992 WL 330411 (N.D. Cal. 1992) (granting plaintiffs' motion to quash defendants' subpoenas of absent class members) [WOW V]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 147 F.R.D. 208 (N.D. Cal. 1992) (denying Officers' motion to quash plaintiffs' subpoena to Securities Exchange Commission for documents from an investigation of WOW) [WOW VI]; In re Worlds of Wonder Sec. Litig., 147 F.R.D. 214 (N.D. Cal. 1992) (denying plaintiffs' motion to compel Deloitte to produce internal audit manuals) [WOW VII ]
Noting that, " [i]f the documents are completely silent on a matter, the 'bespeaks caution' doctrine is inapplicable [because] [o]ne cannot simultaneously bespeak caution on a subject and not address it," the district court applied the Basic test of materiality to the plaintiffs' claims that the Debenture Prospectus omitted material information: " [F]or nondisclosure to be actionable 'there must be a substantial likelihood that the disclosure of the omitted fact would have been viewed by the reasonable investor as having significantly altered the 'total mix' of information made available.' " WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 859 (quoting Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 231-32, 108 S. Ct. 978, 983-84, 99 L. Ed. 2d 194 (1988) (emphasis added))
The plaintiffs appear to contend that, if the bespeaks caution doctrine is viable, it applies only to section 10(b) claims and not to section 11 claims. This argument is plainly wrong. As noted, the doctrine is primarily an application of the materiality concept, which applies equally to both statutory provisions. E.g., Halkin v. VeriFone Inc. (In re VeriFone Sec. Litig.), 11 F.3d 865, 868-69 (9th Cir. 1993). Accordingly, courts have applied the doctrine to section 11 claims as well as section 10(b) claims. See, e.g., Trump, 7 F.3d at 365; I. Meyer Pincus, 936 F.2d at 761; see generally Disclosures, 49 Bus.Law. at 483
The plaintiffs did submit the declaration of John Forsythe, a former WOW collections manager, who stated that "I understood that it was common knowledge among the WOW sales personnel ... that demand for products in the Lazer Tag line had collapsed" and that "I understood on the basis of my conversations with WOW sales personnel ... that the 'pipelines were stuffed' with Lazer Tag kits." The district court, however, excluded this evidence because "Forsythe had no responsibility for WOW's sales, so he has no personal knowledge of this fact and could not testify to it at trial. If he were to testify to the fact that various retailers told him sales were poor, it would be inadmissable hearsay." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 865 n. 12
This ruling was not an abuse of discretion. See McGonigle, 968 F.2d at 818 n. 6 ("Evidentiary rulings are not reversible absent clear abuse of discretion."); In re Convergent Technologies Second Half 1984 Sec. Litig., No. C-85-20130-SW, 1988 WL 215412 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 1990) (excluding as hearsay the declaration of a company's former collections officer regarding "false sales ... to inflate the stock price"), aff'd mem., 942 F.2d 791 (9th Cir. 1991).
The district court said that it "failed to see the logic in plaintiffs' argument [on the loss causation issue]. The amount of revenue posted by a company during a prior year is a number that exists only on paper to reflect total sales during that year. The amount of actual cash the company has access to at the moment is not necessarily related to its total sales in the previous year.... The market [therefore] would not interpret WOW's running out of cash as a signal that its revenues for the previous year were overstated." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 877
The plaintiffs also introduced evidence that Deloitte's alleged misrepresentations artificially inflated the offering price of the debentures. "Properly applied, the concept of loss causation will permit the plaintiff to recover only that damage caused by the misrepresentation: the amount paid over the true value." In re Washington Pub. Power Supply Sys. Sec. Litig., 650 F. Supp. 1346, 1354 (W.D. Wash. 1986). See McGonigle, 968 F.2d at 821 (loss causation exists where "the alleged omissions adversely affected the objective value of the [ ] investment"); Wool v. Tandem Computers, Inc., 818 F.2d 1433, 1437 (9th Cir. 1987) (plaintiff may recover "the difference between the purchase price and the value of the stock at the date of purchase") (quotation omitted). Deloitte argued that this "artificial inflation" analysis, which has arisen in section 10(b) cases, is inconsistent with section 11(e), and the district court agreed. See WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 875-77
Although we do not decide this issue because a remand is appropriate for other reasons, we do note that section 11(e) specifically provides that loss causation exists where a "depreciation in value" "result [s]" from a misleading statement in a prospectus. Although no court has considered section 11 loss causation in the manner urged by the plaintiffs, neither Deloitte nor the district court cited any authority purporting to disregard the plain statutory language in such a case.
Price Waterhouse, 797 F. Supp. at 1242 & n. 60 (citation omitted).
The plaintiffs also brought "controlling person" claims against various defendants. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 77o; 78t(a). We affirm the summary judgment on these claims because, as the district court noted, " [t]here being no primary violation, there can be no secondary violation." WOW, 814 F. Supp. at 872. Deloitte's potential section 11 liability does not change this conclusion because the plaintiffs did not allege that any defendant controlled the auditor