Chechele v. Sperling , 758 F.3d 463 ( 2014 )


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  •      12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1                          UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    2                              FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
    3                                 August Term 2012
    4            (Argued: March 12, 2013           Decided: July 11, 2014)
    5                          Docket No. 12-1769-cv
    6   -----------------------------------------------------x
    7   DONNA ANN GABRIELE CHECHELE,
    8
    9         Plaintiff-Appellant,
    10
    11                               -- v. –-
    12
    13   JOHN G. SPERLING, PETER V. SPERLING,
    14
    15         Defendants-Appellees,
    16
    17   APOLLO GROUP, INC.,
    18
    19         Nominal Defendant-Appellee.
    20
    21   -----------------------------------------------------x
    22   B e f o r e :    WALKER, WESLEY, and HALL, Circuit Judges.
    23         Plaintiff-Appellant Donna Ann Gabriele Chechele appeals from
    24   the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern
    25   District of New York (Paul A. Crotty, Judge) granting Defendants-
    26   Appellees’ motion to dismiss.      Specifically, the district court
    27   found that the requirements of a claim under section 16(b) of the
    28   Securities Exchange Act of 1934, mandating disgorgement of short-
    29   swing profits by statutory insiders, had not been satisfied.
    30   AFFIRMED.
    31
    1
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1                                   JAMES A. HUNTER, Hunter & Kmiec, New
    2                                   York, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
    3
    4                                   DENNIS H. TRACEY, III (Nathaniel E.
    5                                   Marmon, on the brief), Hogan Lovells
    6                                   US LLP, New York, NY, for
    7                                   Defendants-Appellees.
    8
    9
    10   JOHN M. WALKER, JR., Circuit Judge:
    11         Plaintiff-Appellant Donna Ann Gabriele Chechele appeals from
    12   the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern
    13   District of New York (Paul A. Crotty, Judge) granting insider
    14   Defendants-Appellees’ motion to dismiss her short-swing trading
    15   complaint. Specifically, the district court found that the
    16   requirements of a claim under section 16(b) of the Securities
    17   Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), mandating disgorgement of
    18   short-swing profits by statutory insiders, had not been satisfied.
    19   We agree and affirm the district court’s judgment.
    20                                BACKGROUND
    21         Appellant Chechele is a shareholder of Apollo Group, Inc.
    22   (“Apollo”). Appellees John and Peter Sperling, father and son, are
    23   the Executive Chairman and Vice Chairman of Apollo’s Board of
    24   Directors, respectively. Chechele sued the Sperlings under section
    25   16(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78p(b), seeking disgorgement
    26   of alleged short-swing profits. Short-swing profits are realized
    27   under section 16(b) when an insider buys and sells stock of his
    28   company within a six-month period. It is undisputed that the
    29   Sperlings are insiders for the purposes of section 16(b).
    2
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1         As insiders, John and Peter Sperling had considerable holdings
    2   of Apollo stock. In order to convert some of their shares of Apollo
    3   Class A common stock into cash, in 2006 and 2007, John Sperling
    4   entered into two prepaid variable forward contracts (“PVFCs”) and
    5   Peter Sperling entered into three PVFCs. The terms of each PVFC
    6   were contained in three documents: (1) a Master Agreement, (2) a
    7   Pledge Agreement, and (3) a Transaction Confirmation.
    8         The Master Agreements provided the general framework for the
    9   PVFC transactions.1 On the “Payment Date,” the banks would pay John
    10   and Peter an agreed-upon amount of cash. In exchange, the Sperlings
    11   promised to deliver to the banks, on a pre-determined “Settlement
    12   Date,” some number of Apollo shares, or their cash equivalent. The
    13   number of shares to be delivered varied with the market closing
    14   price of Apollo stock three days prior to the Settlement Date
    15   according to a formula provided in each agreement.
    16         Additionally, on the Payment Date, the Sperlings pledged as
    17   collateral the maximum number of shares that could be delivered
    18   under the agreement to secure the banks’ interest in the shares.
    19   In the meantime, however, the Sperlings retained ownership of the
    20   shares until delivery on the Settlement Date; they continued to
    1
    John and Peter Sperling each signed a “master stock purchase
    agreement” with Bank of America. Peter also signed an equivalent
    agreement with Deutsche Bank, labelled the “forward purchase
    contract,” which along with the master stock purchase agreements
    are collectively referred to as the “Master Agreements.”
    3
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   have the right to exercise the shares’ voting rights and receive
    2   cash dividends.
    3           The particulars of each PVFC transaction, including the
    4   Payment Date, upfront cash payment amount, number of pledged
    5   shares, Settlement Date, and settlement formula, were all set forth
    6   in the Transaction Confirmation. For example, John Sperling’s July
    7   11, 2007 Transaction Confirmation called for him to pledge one
    8   million shares on July 16, 2007 (the Payment Date) in return for
    9   approximately $52.4 million from Bank of America. The Settlement
    10   Date occurred approximately eighteen months later, on January 12,
    11   2009.
    12           Under the settlement formula in this transaction, if the share
    13   price three trading days prior to settlement (the “Maturity Date”)
    14   fell below $60.2235 (the “floor price”), John was required to
    15   deliver all of the pledged shares or a cash equivalent. The floor
    16   price protected John from a decline in the stock price because he
    17   was required to deliver one million shares (or the cash equivalent)
    18   regardless of how much below the floor price the share price fell.
    19           But if the share price at the Maturity Date was between the
    20   floor price and $78.2906 (the “ceiling price”), the number of
    21   shares to be delivered would decline as the share price rose above
    22   the floor price according to a formula that maintained a constant
    23   cash equivalent value. John would keep any undelivered shares.
    4
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1         If the share price at the Maturity Date was above the ceiling
    2   price, however, the number of shares to be delivered would increase
    3   according to a formula under which John had to deliver more shares
    4   as the stock price rose. But, no matter how high the stock price
    5   climbed, John never had to deliver more than the one million
    6   originally pledged shares.2
    7         The transaction could be viewed as a bet on whether the share
    8   price would be above the ceiling price (bank’s bet) or below the
    9   floor price (John’s bet) on the Maturity Date. John would “win the
    10   bet” if the settlement price was below the floor, because he would
    11   be satisfying his obligation to the bank with relatively
    12   inexpensive shares. The bank would “win the bet” if the settlement
    13   price was above the ceiling, because it would receive an increasing
    14   number of shares of increasing value. For settlement prices in
    15   between the floor and ceiling, the transaction resembled a loan;
    16   John borrowed $52.4 million from the bank on the Payment Date and
    17   was obligated to pay the bank back approximately $62 million (the
    18   $52.4 million he borrowed plus the implied financing cost of the
    19   loan).
    2
    We have represented this PVFC’s formula graphically at the end of
    this opinion. As one can see, the value John delivered to the bank
    rises steadily as the share price rises, until it reaches the floor
    price. The value then remains constant, until the share price
    reaches ceiling price, at which point the value delivered rises
    again.
    5
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1         On January 9, 2009, the share price was $85.3300—above the
    2   ceiling—so the bank “won” the bet and John had to deliver some, but
    3   not all, of the pledged shares on January 12.
    4         All five PVFC transactions were settled by delivery of shares
    5   rather than the cash equivalent. The following charts summarize
    6   their terms.
    7                                           John Sperling
    Trade     Maturity     Pledged     Floor    Ceiling   Settlement   Delivered   Undelivered
    Date       Date       Shares      Price     Price      Price       Shares       Shares
    7/11/07    1/9/09     1,000,000   60.2235   78.2906    85.3300      788,300     211,700
    4/24/06    4/24/09     500,000    53.3780   80.0670     61.1450     436,500       63,500
    8
    9                                           Peter Sperling
    Trade     Maturity     Pledged     Floor    Ceiling   Settlement   Delivered   Undelivered
    Date       Date       Shares      Price     Price       Price      Shares       Shares
    7/11/07    1/9/09     1,000,000   60.2235   78.2906    85.3300      788,300     211,700
    4/24/06   4/24/09     500,000     53.3780   80.0670    61.1450     436,500       63,500
    1/19/06   1/20/09     315,000     55.3064   71.8983    86.5400     254,606       60,394
    10
    11                              THE CLAIM IN THE DISTRICT COURT
    12         Within six months of the settlement of the PVFC transactions
    13   at issue, the Sperlings sold some of their Apollo stock on the open
    14   market. Chechele alleges that those sales, in light of the PVFC
    15   settlement, violated section 16(b). According to her theory of the
    16   case, the Sperlings sold the shares they pledged to the banks on
    17   the Payment Dates of the PVFCs, but then “repurchased” the
    18   undelivered shares on the Settlement Dates. She claims that their
    19   subsequent sales of company stock on the open market – less than
    6
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   six months after the PVFC’s settled - can be matched to the
    2   “purchase” that occurred at settlement. If she is correct, any
    3   profits made from the later sales must be disgorged as short-swing
    4   profits under section 16(b).
    5         The district court concluded that because the “Sperlings’
    6   rights ‘became fixed and irrevocable’ at the time they entered into
    7   the [PVFCs] . . . the repurchases of the [Sperlings’] retained
    8   shares on the settlement date did not constitute a ‘purchase’ under
    9   Section 16(b).” Chechele v. Sperling, No. 11 Civ. 0146, 
    2012 WL 10
      1038653, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 29, 2012).
    11                                  DISCUSSION
    12         Chechele raises only one issue on appeal: whether the
    13   Sperlings’ retention of a portion of the shares that were pledged
    14   but not delivered to the banks constituted a “purchase” of company
    15   stock within the meaning of section 16(b) of the Securities
    16   Exchange Act. We review de novo the district court’s grant of a
    17   motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Procedure 12(b)(6),
    18   Anschutz Corp. v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 
    690 F.3d 98
    , 107 (2d Cir.
    19   2012), and conclude that the Sperlings’ ultimate retention of
    20   shares pledged to the banks in the various PVFC transactions did
    21   not constitute “purchases” under section 16(b).
    22         In relevant part, section 16(b) states:
    23               [A]ny profit realized by [a corporate insider]
    24               from any purchase and sale, or any sale and
    25               purchase, of any equity security. . . within
    26               any period of less than six months . . . shall
    7
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1               inure to and be recoverable by the issuer,
    2               irrespective of any intention on the part of
    3               [the insider].
    4
    5   15 U.S.C. § 78p(b). We have explained that “liability under Section
    6   16(b) does not attach unless the plaintiff proves that there was
    7   (1) a purchase and (2) a sale of securities (3) by an [insider]
    8   (4) within a six-month period.” Gwozdzinsky v. Zell/Chilmark Fund,
    9   L.P., 
    156 F.3d 305
    , 308 (2d Cir. 1998).3 The only element at issue
    10   here is element one: whether a “purchase” occurred when the PVFCs
    11   settled and the Sperlings retained some of their pledged shares.4
    12
    13       A. PVFCs are a form of complex derivatives
    14         The PVFCs at issue here are complex derivatives.5 On the day
    15   the contracts were written, the Sperlings obtained the equivalent
    16   of a right to sell a maximum number of shares to the banks, which
    17   they would exercise if the share price fell below a floor. Because
    18   the value of the Sperlings’ right to sell shares would increase as
    3
    For the purposes of section 16(b) an insider is “an officer or
    director of the issuer or . . . a shareholder who owns more than
    ten percent of any one class of the issuer’s securities[.]”
    
    Gwozdzinsky, 156 F.3d at 308
    .
    4
    We and the parties refer to the transactions here as “PVFCs.” This
    label is useful as far as this transaction goes. We must be
    cautious, however, not to rely too heavily on labels because the
    creativity of Wall Street lawyers and bankers is boundless. A
    future instrument that resembles today’s PVFC may contain a
    heretofore unthought-of contractual term that fundamentally changes
    the analysis.
    5
    Derivatives include, among other things, options to buy or sell
    securities at particular prices in the future. 17 C.F.R. § 240.16a–
    1(c).
    8
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   the price of the stock decreased, the right is a “put equivalent
    2   position.” 17 C.F.R. § 240.16a-1(h).6 In exchange for this put
    3   equivalent position, the Sperlings granted the banks a right to
    4   receive additional shares as the Apollo stock price rose above the
    5   PVFC ceiling price.    Because the value of the banks’ right to
    6   receive the pledged shares would increase as the stock price
    7   increased, the right is a “call equivalent position.” 17 C.F.R. §
    8   240.16a-1(b).7
    9         For purposes of our analysis, the initial pledge of shares as
    10   collateral is irrelevant; the pledge agreement merely protected the
    11   bank against the sale or encumbrance of the shares at risk in the
    12   PVFC until the settlement date. And the fact that the transaction
    6
    A “put option” is a contract giving one party the right to sell,
    and obligating one party to buy, a stock or commodity at a given
    price, known as a “strike price,” on a particular date. If the
    market price on that date is below the strike price, then the
    option becomes valuable because one could purchase the stock in the
    market and immediately resell it for a profit. See Michael S.
    Knoll, Put-Call Parity and the Law, 24 Cardozo L. Rev. 61, 70
    (2002). We are further convinced that this transaction was a put
    equivalent by the fact that the potential loss to the bank here if
    the transaction settled below the floor, and the potential loss to
    the writer of a traditional put option are nearly identical.
    Intrigued readers are encouraged to compare our graph of this
    transaction with Knoll’s profit/loss graph of a put option. 
    Id. 7 A
    “call option” is a standardized contract giving one party the
    right to buy, and obligating one party to sell, a stock or
    commodity at a given price, again a “strike price,” on a particular
    date. If the market price of the stock rises above the strike
    price, the option becomes valuable because one could exercise the
    option and immediately sell the purchased shares on the open market
    at a profit. See 
    Knoll, supra, at 70
    . Again, comparing our graph of
    the profit to the bank if this transaction settled above the
    ceiling with a graph of the profit to the holder of a traditional
    call option reveals just how much like a call option this
    transaction was. See 
    id. 9 12-1769-cv
         Chechele v. Sperling
    1   resembled a loan at settlement prices between the floor and the
    2   ceiling is also irrelevant. Even though no shares changed hands on
    3   the Payment Date, rights to an equity security were still bought
    4   and sold at the time of the contract.8
    5         Were we to confine our focus to the loan aspects of the PVFC,
    6   to the exclusion of its option-equivalent elements, we would not
    7   only contravene the SEC rules, but also create a new vehicle for
    8   insider trading. Suppose an insider anticipated a temporary dip in
    9   his company’s stock price. The insider could enter into a PVFC with
    10   a settlement date during the expected price dip. The insider could
    11   then settle in cash, paying the price of the now devalued shares,
    12   but retaining the shares themselves for the anticipated upswing in
    13   the stock price. When the stock price returned to normal, the
    14   insider would have kept his shares and profited by the difference
    15   between the up-front payment (based on the normal stock value) and
    16   the settlement price (based on the stock value during the market
    8
    Furthermore, the view that PVFCs are derivatives – not loans –
    is consistent with every authority revealed by research. First,
    the SEC treats PVFCs as derivatives. See Exchange Act Release
    No. 47809, 68 Fed. Reg. 25,788, 25,789 (May 13, 2003) (“In
    particular, section 16(a) requires insiders to report all security-
    based swap agreements and transactions involving derivative
    securities, including . . . forwards . . . .”). Second, two
    separate district courts have now analyzed PVFCs as derivatives.
    See Chechele, 
    2012 WL 10
    38653; Donoghue v. Centillium Commc’ns
    Inc., No. 05 Civ. 4082, 
    2006 WL 775122
    (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2006).
    Moreover, leading treatises treat PVFCs as derivatives with
    potential insider-trading implications. See Peter J. Romeo & Alan
    L. Dye, Section 16 Treatise and Reporting Guide §§ 3.03[2][h],
    10.05[3] (4th ed. 2012). Finally, both parties to this litigation
    go to great lengths to analyze the contracts as transactions in
    derivative securities.
    10
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   dip).
    2           In this hypothetical, if the PVFC is treated as a loan,
    3   section 16(b) was not violated. No shares changed hands, and there
    4   was no “purchase” or “sale” to trigger section 16(b). Viewing the
    5   PVFC as a derivative, however, the potential for abuse becomes
    6   clear: the insider offered the PVFC “call option” as consideration
    7   for the “put option,” knowing that the call option would never be
    8   exercised. In other words, he used his informational advantage to
    9   sell something he knew to be worthless.
    10           Precisely to prevent what would happen in our hypothetical, we
    11   have held that “for purposes of Section 16(b), the expiration of a
    12   call option within six months of its writing is to be deemed a
    13   ‘purchase’ by the option writer to be matched against the ‘sale’
    14   deemed to occur when that option was written.” Roth v. Goldman
    15   Sachs Grp., Inc., 
    740 F.3d 865
    , 872 (2d Cir. 2014); see also 17
    16   C.F.R. § 240.16b-6(d). This rule prevents an insider from profiting
    17   by selling call options with expiration dates within six months,
    18   while knowing, by virtue of his inside information, that the stock
    19   price would not rise above the strike price and the option would
    20   never be exercised. We think this rule should apply here as well.
    21   We therefore hold that a PVFC is akin to the “sale” of a call
    22   option (and purchase of a put) by the insider, and this sale should
    23   be matched to a “purchase” at the settlement date, should the call
    24   option expire. Thus for purposes of section 16 liability, the
    11
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   Sperlings “sold” call options to the banks on the day they signed
    2   the contract, and any matching “purchases” would occur – if at all
    3   – on the settlement date if these options went unexercised.
    4         Viewing the instant transactions in this manner, it becomes
    5   clear why the Sperlings did not violate section 16(b). First, for
    6   the transactions that settled above the ceiling, nothing of
    7   significance occurred on the settlement date. The bank merely
    8   exercised its call options, which is neither a purchase nor a sale
    9   under section 16(b). The exercise of a traditional derivative
    10   security (as opposed to its expiration) is a “non-event” for
    11   section 16(b) purposes. Magma Power Co. v. Dow Chem. Co., 
    136 F.3d 12
      316, 322 (2d Cir. 1998). Second, even if the banks’ call options
    13   had expired - as they did in several cases – the expiration of an
    14   option can only be matched to its own writing for section 16
    15   purposes, not to another unrelated sale of stock. Allaire Corp. v.
    16   Okumus, 
    433 F.3d 248
    , 254 (2d Cir. 2006). Since the Sperlings’
    17   subsequent stock purchases were not part of the PFVC derivative
    18   transaction, the two could never have been matched.
    19         B. PVFCs are not “hybrid deriviatives”
    20         Although Chechele would agree with our conclusion that the
    21   PVFCs at issue here are a species of derivative, she attempts to
    22   analyze these contracts under our emerging “hybrid derivatives”
    23   case law governing options without a fixed exercise price. This is
    24   the incorrect mode of analysis.
    12
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1         In Analytical Surveys, Inc. v. Tonga Partners, L.P., 
    684 F.3d 2
      36, 49-50 (2d Cir. 2012), we held that a hybrid derivative — a
    3   derivative without a fixed exercise price — is not “purchased”
    4   until the price becomes fixed because only then is “the extent of
    5   the profit opportunity defined[.]”9 Our hybrid derivative cases,
    6   however, have all dealt with contracts where one of the parties
    7   controlled the timing, and thus the price, at which the option
    8   would be exercised. See Analytical 
    Surveys, 684 F.3d at 41
    ; At Home
    9   Corp. v. Cox Commc’ns Inc., 
    446 F.3d 403
    , 405 (2d Cir. 2006); Magma
    10   
    Power, 136 F.3d at 319
    . This is critical.
    11         Because one of the parties controls the timing of the
    12   exercise, hybrids present two opportunities to use inside
    13   information, once at the writing of the contract and again at their
    14   exercise. In Analytical Surveys, we emphasized that the “insider’s
    15   additional opportunity to rely on inside information to time the
    16   date of exercise” presented an additional 
    danger. 684 F.3d at 50
    .
    17   This is why we held that the “purchase” for section 16(b) purposes
    18   occurs when the price is fixed. The time the price is fixed is when
    19   the last opportunity to use inside information occurs, and when the
    20   six-month clock for a matching sale should start. See 
    id. at 49-50.
    21         The PVFCs at issue here, however, do not present the same risk
    22   of manipulation at the time of their settlement that hybrids do at
    9
    This is in keeping with SEC regulations, which exclude from the
    definition of a traditional derivative “[r]ights with an exercise
    or conversion privilege at a price that is not fixed[.]” 17 C.F.R.
    § 240.16a-1(c)(6).
    13
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   the time of their exercise. It is true that with these PVFCs, as
    2   with the securities in our hybrid cases, the number of shares that
    3   may be called and the price of those shares is not known at the
    4   time the contract is written. Nonetheless, with these PVFCs the
    5   price was set by a predetermined formula. There is thus no
    6   opportunity for additional manipulation after the contract is
    7   signed.10 Because the parties are bound to the formula and dates
    8   from the time of contracting, the prices of these PVFC options were
    9   fixed at the time they entered the contract even if they are not
    10   known.
    11         Viewing these PVFCs as traditional rather than hybrid
    12   derivatives also comports with SEC regulations. A related SEC rule
    13   provides:
    14         [I]f [an insider’s] increase or decrease [in a derivative
    15         position] occurs as a result of the fixing of the
    16         exercise price of a right initially issued without a
    17         fixed price, where the date the price is fixed is not
    18         known in advance and is outside the control of the
    19         recipient, the increase or decrease shall be exempt from
    20         section 16(b)[.]
    21
    22   17 C.F.R. § 240.16b-6(a). The purpose of this regulation is to
    23   avoid “the unfairness of subjecting insiders to liability under
    10
    As one district court put it, insiders writing PVFCs are
    powerless to manipulate the settlement [to their]
    advantage. [They are] obligated to settle [on the
    contractual date], regardless of whether the stock price
    [is] favorable . . . . While the ultimate number of
    shares to be transferred [is] not [known], that number
    [is] dictated by financial formulae and criteria set
    forth in the [PVFC] and, . . . [can]not be modified[.]
    Donoghue, 
    2006 WL 775122
    , at *5 (internal quotation marks omitted).
    14
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    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   Section 16(b) who engage in a purchase or sale and then have an
    2   offsetting sale or purchase thrust upon them thereafter by events
    3   ‘not known in advance’ and ‘outside the[ir] control.’” Magma Power,
    
    4 136 F.3d at 322
    .
    5         Still, because there is some risk of manipulation, as we
    6   discussed above, PVFCs do not — and should not — get the benefit of
    7   a total section 16(b) exemption. Nonetheless, treating PVFCs as
    8   hybrid derivatives could produce the same “unfairness” that
    9   prompted the issuance of 17 C.F.R. § 240.16b-6(a). If the
    10   “purchase” or “sale” of the derivative does not occur until the
    11   price is “fixed” in the sense of being determined, every PVFC could
    12   subject the insider to section 16(b) liability. This is because
    13   under a hybrid derivative analysis a “sale” will always occur
    14   shortly before settlement, when the value to be delivered is
    15   determined. Because, under Roth, an expiration of the bank’s call
    16   option is a “purchase” (by the insider) to be matched with this
    17   “sale,” section 16 liability would result whenever a PVFC settles
    18   below the floor and the bank’s call option expires. This does not
    19   make sense.
    20         Viewing the PVFCs as traditional derivatives, however, avoids
    21   this odd result. The transactions to be matched are not the
    22   “fixing” of the price shortly before settlement and the settlement
    23   itself, but the writing of the contract and the settlement. As long
    15
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1   as the settlement date is set at least six months out from the
    2   contract date, there is no risk of any short-swing profit.
    3
    4   ***
    5         In short, the Sperlings did not violate section 16(b). First,
    6   nothing of significance occurred on the Settlement Dates. The banks
    7   simply exercised their call options, which is neither a purchase
    8   nor a sale under section 16(b). The exercise of a traditional
    9   derivative security is a “non-event” for section 16(b) purposes.
    10   Magma 
    Power, 136 F.3d at 322
    . Therefore the Sperlings’ subsequent
    11   sale of stock after settlement did not trigger liability. Second,
    12   even if the banks’ call options had expired, under SEC Rule 16b—
    13   6(a) “the expiration of an option, when matched against any
    14   transaction other than its own writing, is not [a transaction].”
    15   Allaire 
    Corp., 433 F.3d at 254
    . Furthermore, as mentioned earlier,
    16   the expiration of the banks’ call options is “deemed a ‘purchase’
    17   by the option writer to be matched against the ‘sale’ deemed to
    18   occur when that option was written.” 
    Roth, 740 F.3d at 872
    . And
    19   third, the PVFC transaction was a sale of stock; both the rights
    20   the Sperlings granted and received are “put equivalent positions”
    21   deemed to be “sale[s] of the underlying securities for purposes of
    22   section 16(b)[.]” 17 C.F.R. § 240.16b-6(a). To trigger section
    23   16(b) liability there must be both a purchase and a sale, not two
    24   sales. See 
    Roth, 740 F.3d at 870
    .
    16
    12-1769-cv
    Chechele v. Sperling
    1                                To sum up, the PVFCs in this case are properly analyzed under
    2   traditional, and not hybrid, derivatives analysis. When that is
    3   done, it becomes evident that no “purchase” occurred against which
    4   a “sale” could be matched for section 16(b) purposes.
    5                                                       CONCLUSION
    6                                For the foregoing reasons, the district court’s judgment is
    7   AFFIRMED.
    8
    Number of Shares Delivered
    1200000
    1000000
    Number of Shares Delivered
    800000
    600000
    400000
    200000
    0
    $35.00
    $37.00
    $39.00
    $41.00
    $43.00
    $45.00
    $47.00
    $49.00
    $51.00
    $53.00
    $55.00
    $57.00
    $59.00
    $61.00
    $63.00
    $65.00
    $67.00
    $69.00
    $71.00
    $73.00
    $75.00
    $77.00
    $79.00
    $81.00
    $83.00
    $85.00
    $87.00
    $89.00
    $91.00
    $93.00
    $95.00
    $97.00
    $99.00
    Share Price
    9
    17
    1
    Value of Shares Delivered in Millions
    40
    45
    50
    55
    60
    65
    70
    75
    80
    $35.00                                                  85
    $37.00
    12-1769-cv
    $39.00
    $41.00
    $43.00
    $45.00
    $47.00
    Chechele v. Sperling
    $49.00
    $51.00
    $53.00
    $55.00
    $57.00
    $59.00
    $61.00
    $63.00
    $65.00
    18
    $67.00
    $69.00
    $71.00
    Share Price
    $73.00
    $75.00
    $77.00
    $79.00
    $81.00
    $83.00
    $85.00
    Value of Shares Delivered
    $87.00
    $89.00
    $91.00
    $93.00
    $95.00
    $97.00
    $99.00
    

Document Info

Docket Number: Docket 12-1769-cv

Citation Numbers: 758 F.3d 463

Judges: Hall, Walker, Wesley

Filed Date: 7/11/2014

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 8/31/2023