Basic Inc. v. Levinson

E590642

Basic Inc. v. Levinson is a landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the fraud-on-the-market theory and clarified the materiality standard for misstatements in securities fraud class actions.

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Basic Inc. v. Levinson canonical 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
class action securities fraud case
securities law case
appliesTo open and developed securities markets
publicly traded securities
category United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
United States Supreme Court cases on securities law
citation 485 U.S. 224
country United States of America
surface form: United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1988
March 7, 1988
docketNumber 86-279
holding adopted the fraud-on-the-market theory for securities fraud class actions
materiality of merger discussions depends on probability and magnitude
presumption of reliance is available to plaintiffs in an efficient market
rejected a bright-line rule that preliminary merger discussions are immaterial as a matter of law
influencedCase Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds NERFINISHED
Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co. NERFINISHED
Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. NERFINISHED
issue whether preliminary merger negotiations must be disclosed under federal securities laws
whether reliance can be presumed in securities fraud class actions based on market price
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction
keyQuestion what constitutes a material misrepresentation or omission in the context of merger negotiations
whether market price can serve as a proxy for investor reliance
language English
legalArea class actions
federal securities fraud
securities regulation
legalDoctrine fraud-on-the-market theory
presumption of reliance in open and developed securities markets
probability-magnitude test for materiality
majorityOpinionBy Justice Harry A. Blackmun NERFINISHED
materialityStandard probability-magnitude balancing test
petitioner Basic Incorporated NERFINISHED
relatesToConcept class certification in securities cases
efficient capital market hypothesis
materiality in securities fraud
respondent Max L. Levinson NERFINISHED
result judgment of the Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part
statuteInterpreted SEC Rule 10b-5 NERFINISHED
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 NERFINISHED
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 NERFINISHED
subsequentHistory followed and applied in numerous federal securities fraud class actions
term 1987 Term
vote 6-3 decision
yearArgued 1987

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