Securities & Exchange Commission v. Nan Huang
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Nan Huang
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
After considering admitted evidence, the jury returned a verdict finding Nan Huang bought and sold securities based on material insider information admittedly derived from his employer’s confidential credit card revenue data. After denying the Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment, we asked the jury to determine whether the confidential credit card revenue data, under the facts of Nan Huang’s trading, constituted material information. As we find the Plaintiff adduced substantial evidence of materiality to support the jury’s verdict of materiality, we deny Nan Huang’s motion for judgment as a matter of law or alternatively for a new trial.
I. Facts
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) alleged Defendant Nan Huang misappropriated material nonpublic information from his employer Capital One to trade in securities. Huang admittedly accessed Capitol One’s database (“Teradata”) to obtain information relating to sales revenues based on Capitol One credit card spending with target companies. Teradata captures information relating to Capital One’s credit card sales. Huang created computer code, or queries, which enabled him to scour Teradata for a specific company’s credit card revenue data and then import responsive data into an Excel spreadsheet. Huang did this for hundreds of companies. He then used the information to trade in the same companies near their earnings announcement date, yielding large profits. The jury considered whether the Teradata confidential information was material.
II. Analysis
Huang now moves for judgment as a matter of law, or in the alternative, for a new trial. Huang challenges the sufficiency of the Commission’s evidence. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 permits us to enter judgment as a matter of law if we find “a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue.”
Huang argues the Commission did not introduce sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find the Capital One credit card revenue data material. Huang contends the Commission failed to introduce evidence regarding the “total mix of information”. According to Huang, the Commission did not offer evidencq “regarding the circumstances of the specific companies on the specific days for the specific trades in question.”
In arguing the Commission failed to introduce sufficient evidence of the “total mix of information” Huang relies on In re Adams Golf Inc. Securities Litigation,
Pouncing on, the above quoted language, Huang argues “one bit of information in a vacuum does not lend, itself to a materiality determination.”
The Commission also showed the importance of the credit card revenue data to the market through Stephen Graham’s testimony. Graham is a Commission Senior Financial Analyst. Graham described statistical analyses in evaluating the materiality of the credit card revenue data. Graham studied the files forensically imaged by Capital One from Huang’s computer.
Graham also performed a regression analysis using numerous analyst reports as one variable and the credit card revenue data as another, to test the influence of those variables on total company revenue.
Huang argues two other points which we find unpersuasive. First, he argues the Commission failed to present evidence “about the reasonable investor’s view” of the credit card revenue data. We are not aware of any case, and Huang cites none, requiring the Commission to have a random “reasonable investor” testify. If we could devine “reasonable investor” testimony, we do not see how the inquiry would remain objective; any investor’s testimony would delve into her investment practices. Huang also argues “the Third Circuit requires proof that the information was market moving[.]”
The Commission cites other evidence bolstering its materiality showing. The Commission contends Huang’s conduct itself indicated the materiality of the credit card revenue data:
1. Huang searched for Capital One credit card revenue data containing nonpublic quarterly revenue information in advance of each of his trades.
2. Huang analyzed the Capital One credit card revenue data using detailed spreadsheets for each company.
3. Huang had no legitimate purpose to search for the information for each and every search he conducted.33
As the Commission notes, where the “insider” himself finds it “sufficiently material” to trade on the given stocks, it is evidence of the materiality of the information traded upon.
Based on pre-trial rulings, we instructed the jurors they were free to draw an adverse inference on the issue of materiality and, according to the Commission, this is further evidence of the materiality of the credit card revenue data. We find given the other evidence bearing on materiality, the adverse inference is simply another reason to refrain from disturbing the jury verdict in this case.
The Commission presented evidence demonstrating Capital One is the fourth largest credit card issuer in the United States and Huang had insider access to every single purchase made by a Capital One credit card holder during the relevant time period. The Commission presented evidence Huang accessed this information and used it to trade in companies for which he had the credit card revenue data. The Commission’s expert testified the credit card revenue data is significantly correlated with the actual total revenue reported by the companies Huang traded in such that it held predictive power. After hearing this evidence, the jury decided the credit card revenue data constituted information “a reasonable investor would have considered significant in making an investment decision.” Given our high deference to the jury’s verdict and in light of the evidence presented at trial, we cannot conclude as a matter of law the Commission failed to present the minimum quantum of evidence concerning the materiality of the credit card revenue data.
III. Conclusion
The Commission adduced substantially more than the minimum quantum of evidence necessary to sustain the jury’s verdict. It presented evidence demonstrating the importance of the credit card revenue data to the reasonable investor. The evidence included Stephen Graham’s expert opinion the credit card revenue data held predictive power as to total company revenue. The Commission further showed the significance the credit card revenue data played in Huang’s investment decisions. We also instructed the jury it was free to draw an adverse inference against Huang with regard to materiality. In sum, the Commission presented sufficient evidence, coupled with the adverse inference, to sustain the jury’s verdict in its favor. Huang is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law or a new trial and we deny his motion in the accompanying order.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a)(1).
. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct, 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).
. Acumed LLC v. Advanced Surgical Servs., Inc., 561 F.3d 199, 211 (3d Cir. 2009).
. Lightning Lube, Inc. v. Witco Corp., 4 F.3d 1153, 1166 (3d Cir. 1993).
. Eshelman v. Agere Sys., Inc., 554 F.3d 426, 433 (3d Cir. 2009) (citation omitted).
. Acumed LLC, 561 F.3d at 211 (citing Lightning Lube, Inc., 4 F.3d at 1166)
. Parkway Garage, Inc. v. City of Phila., 5 F.3d 685, 691-92 (3d Cir. 1993).
. (ECF Doc. No. 105-1, at 2.)
. (Id. at 8.)
. (Id. at 9-10.)
. (Id. at 10.)
. 381 F.3d 267, 274-7S (3d Cir. 2004). .
. Id. at 270.
. Id. at 272.
. Id. at 275.
. Id. at 274.
. Id. at 275.
. Id.
. (ECF Doc. No. 105-1, at 8)
. (Trial Tr„ Day 1, at 51.)
. (Id. at 51-52.)
. (Id. at 111-115.)
. (Id. at 121-22.)
. (Id. at 150.)
. (Id. at 146.)
. (Id. at 150.)
. (Id. at 150.)
.(Id. at 157-61.)
. (Id. at 158-59.)
. (ECF Doc. No. 69, at 1-2 (quoting TSC Indus., Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438, 450, 96 S.Ct. 2126, 48 L.Ed.2d 757 (1976).))
.(ECF Doc. No. 105-1, at 10.)
.See United States v. Schiff, 602 F.3d 152, 171 (3d Cir. 2010) (noting a drop in stock price "is not the only method of proving materiality”).
.(ECF Doc. No. 109, at 5.)
.See Rothberg v. Rosenbloom, 771 F.2d 818, 821 (3d Cir. 1985); see also SEC v. Texas Gulf Sulphur Co., 401 F.2d 833, 851 (2d Cir. 1968).
. See S.E.C. v. Graystone Nash, Inc., 25 F.3d 187, 191 (3d Cir. 1994) ("[A] defendant’s silence in itself was insufficient to support an adverse decision, but that such silence in conjunction with other evidence against the defendant could support that result.”)
. Oran v. Stafford, 226 F.3d 275, 282 (3d Cir. 2000) (citation omitted).
. (ECF Dc. No. 105-1, at 6 n.2)
. See S.E.C. v. Mayhew, 121 F.3d 44, 52 (2d Cir. 1997) (citing TSC Indus., 426 U.S. at 449, 96 S.Ct. 2126).
. 90 F.3d 696 (3d Cir. 1996).
. (ECF Doc. No. 105-1, at 10.)
. 90 F.3d at 715.
. Id. at 714.
. Id. at n. 14.
. See In re Home Health Corp. of Am., Inc., No. 98-834, 1999 WL 79057, at *6-7 (E.D.Pa. Jan. 29, 1999) (finding 3% of net revenues material).
Reference
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