Securities Regulation
Advanced
Scienter
A mental-state requirement in many securities-fraud claims, usually referring to intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud, and in some contexts recklessness.
Why It Matters
Scienter affects pleading burdens, enforcement strategy, settlement leverage, and the tradeoff between deterring fraud and avoiding excessive liability for ordinary business mistakes.
Selected Literature
A short list of directly relevant archive entries.
1999
Advanced
The Scope of Private Securities Litigation: In Search of Liability Standards for Secondary Defendants
Jill E. Fisch
Columbia Law Review
2009
Advanced
Public and Private Enforcement of Securities Laws: Resource-Based Evidence
Howell E. Jackson and Mark J. Roe
Journal of Financial Economics
2017
Advanced
Related Cases
1976
Securities Regulation
Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder
425 U.S. 185 (1976)
Scienter requirement for private damages actions under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5.
1980
Securities Regulation
Aaron v. SEC
446 U.S. 680 (1980)
Which antifraud provisions require the SEC to prove scienter when it seeks an injunction.
2019
Securities Regulation
Lorenzo v. SEC
587 U.S. 71 (2019)
Primary scheme liability for knowingly disseminating false statements authored by another person.
1975
Securities Regulation
Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores
421 U.S. 723 (1975)
Standing to bring private Rule 10b-5 damages actions and the purchaser-seller limitation.