Opinion ID: 1384382
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Kellogg buyout and suspicious stock purchases[1]

Text: This case involves insider trading based on the purchase, by the Kellogg Company (Kellogg), of Worthington Foods (WF), a small meatless foods company located in Columbus, Ohio. From July 1999, when negotiations began with Kellogg, to October 1999, when the buyout occurred, Appellants' co-defendant Roger Blackwell (Blackwell) sat on the Board of Directors at WF. As a member of the Board, Blackwell was privy to non-public information about the Kellogg purchase and the price per share negotiated by the parties. From June to September 1999, many of Blackwell's friends and family bought WF stock. The largest purchaser was Justin Voss (Voss), a friend and business associate to Blackwell, who bought 38,000 shares. The second largest purchaser was Jack Kahl (Kahl), a friend and business associate to Blackwell, who bought 15,000 shares. Hughes, longtime employee and friend to Blackwell, and her husband, Stacy, were the fifth largest purchasers with 10,286 combined shares. Arnold Jack (Jack), longtime friend to Blackwell, and Black Jack Enterprises, co-owned by Jack and Blackwell, purchased 5,500 shares. Dale Blackwell, Blackwell's father, purchased 3,000 shares. Gertrude and Alfred Stephans (the Stephanses), parents of Blackwell's wife Kristina Stephans-Blackwell (Stephans-Blackwell), [2] purchased 1,800 shares. Finally, Blackwell's son, Christian Blackwell, purchased 350 shares of WF stock.