Opinion ID: 1367722
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of the Attribution Requirement

Text: Applying the attribution standard to the alleged false and misleading statements in this case, we conclude that the District Court properly dismissed plaintiffs' Rule 10b-5(b) claims against Mayer Brown and Collins. No statements in the Offering Memorandum, the Registration Statement, or the IPO Registration Statement are attributed to Collins, and he is not even mentioned by name in any of those documents. Accordingly, plaintiffs cannot show reliance on any of Collins' statements. See Lattanzio, 476 F.3d at 154; Wright, 152 F.3d at 175 (imposing liability on secondary actors absent attribution would circumvent the reliance requirement of [§ 10b]). The Offering Memorandum and the IPO Registration Statement note that Mayer Brown, among other counsel, represented Refco in connection with those transactions but neither document attributes any particular statements to Mayer Brown. Mayer Brown is not identified as the author of any portion of the documents. Nor can the mere mention of the firm's representation of Refco be considered an articulated statement by Mayer Brown adopting Refco's statements as its own. See Lattanzio, 476 F.3d at 155. Absent such attribution, plaintiffs cannot show reliance on any statements of Mayer Brown. See id. at 154; Wright, 152 F.3d at 175.