United States Securities & Exchange Commission v. Berrettini

218 F. Supp. 3d 754, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151568, 2016 WL 6476456
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedNovember 2, 2016
DocketCase No. 10-cv-1614
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 3d 754 (United States Securities & Exchange Commission v. Berrettini) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States Securities & Exchange Commission v. Berrettini, 218 F. Supp. 3d 754, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151568, 2016 WL 6476456 (N.D. Ill. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Robert M. Dow, Jr., United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the motion [247] of Plaintiff the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for judgment and imposition of remedies. For the reasons stated below, the Court enters final judgment in favor of the SEC and against Defendants Morando Berrettini (“Berrettini”) and Ralph J. Pir-tle (“Pirtle”) (collectively, “Defendants”). Berrettini and Pirtle are each required to pay, individually and not jointly and severally: (1) disgorgement in the amount of $120,311.00; (2) pre-judgment interest in the amount of $65,011.00; (3) and a civil penalty in the amount of $120,311.00. The total judgment against each Defendant is $305,633.00

I. Background1

The SEC brought a complaint against Berrettini and Pirtle for engaging in deceptive practices in connection with the purchase and sale of securities in three publicly traded companies between December 2005 and June 2006. The governing complaint [5] alleges that Pirtle misappropriated inside information from his employer, Royal Philips, N.V. (“Philips”), and provided it to Berrettini with the intent to enable Berrettini to trade on the information. Pirtle was a member of Philips’ due diligence team for three transactions in which Philips was acquiring or considering acquiring publicly traded companies that specialize in medical devices. The three companies were Lifeline Systems, Inc. (“Lifeline”), Invacare, Inc. (“Invacare”), and Intermagnetics Corporation (“Intermagnetics”). Philips ultimately acquired Lifeline and Intermag-netics. According to the complaint, Pirtle misappropriated Philips’ inside information in violation of his obligations to Philips and “tipped” Berrettini about the proposed acquisitions of the three companies. [758]*758Berrettini, a real estate broker, consultant, and preferred vendor for Philips, used the information from Pirtle to trade in the shares of Lifeline, Invacare, and Intermagnetics and made actual profits of $240,621. Also according to the complaint, between 2003 and January 2007, Berretti-ni made a series of payments to third parties on Pirtle’s behalf, totaling more than $226,000, to pay for things like cars, trips to Las Vegas, and gambling. The complaint alleges that these payments were not “loans,” as Pirtle contended, but instead were payments for business opportunities and inside information from Philips.

The SEC brought six claims against Defendants for violation of section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. See 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b); 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. Counts One, Two and Three were brought against both Defendants based on the purchase and sale of securities in Lifeline, Invacare, and Intermag-netics, respectively. Counts Four, Five and Six were brought against Berrettini only and allege that he misappropriated and used for his own benefit Philips’ material nonpublic information in connection with the purchase and sale of securities in Lifeline, Invacare, and Intermagnetics, respectively. The case was tried before a jury beginning on September 9, 2015 and concluding on September 24, 2015. Defendants’ primary defense was that Pirtle simply provided information to Berrettini concerning the general geographic areas in which Philips sought to make acquisitions so that Berrettini could perform market research, and Berrettini then independently researched publicly traded medical device companies in the area and bought the stock of Lifeline, Invacare, and Intermag-netics based on his research results and “hunches.” Defendants also contended that the payments Berrettini made to third parties on Pirtle’s behalf were simply loans, not payments for business opportunities or inside information. At the conclusion of trial, the jury found for the SEC and against Defendants on all counts.

The SEC now moves for final judgment and the imposition of remedies. The SEC seeks to permanently enjoin Defendants from violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The SEC also seeks an order requiring Defendants to disgorge their ill-gotten gains and to pay prejudgment interest and civil penalties.

II. Analysis

A. Permanent Injunction

Once the SEC has demonstrated that a defendant has violated Section 10(b) or Rule 10b-5, “it ‘need only show that there is a reasonable likelihood of future violations in order to obtain [injunctive] relief.’ ” SEC v. Yang, 795 F.3d 674, 681 (7th Cir. 2015) (quoting SEC v. Holschuh, 694 F.2d 130, 144 (7th Cir. 1982)); see also 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(1). To assess the likelihood that a defendant will commit future violations, the Court assesses “ ‘the totality of the circumstances surrounding the defendant and his violation.’ ” Id. (quoting Holschuh, 694 F.2d at 144). These circumstances may include (1) the gravity of the harm caused by the offense; (2) the extent of the defendant’s participation and degree of scienter; (3) the isolated or recurrent nature of the violation; (4) the likelihood that the defendant’s customary business activities could involve him in future violations; (5) the defendant’s recognition of his own culpability; and (6) the sincerity of the defendant’s assurances against future violations. Id. The Court “may determine that some of the factors are inapplicable in a particular case” and “take other relevant factors into account in deciding whether to impose the bar and, if so, its duration.” SEC v. Benger, 64 F.Supp.3d 1136, 1139 (N.D. Ill. 2014). However, a “defendant’s past violation of the securities laws, with[759]*759out more, is insufficient to support permanent injunctive relief.” Id. (citation omitted).

The SEC argues that the totality of circumstances warrant permanently enjoining both Defendants from committing future violations of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. Pirtle does not object to the entry of a permanent injunction against him, but argues that the SEC improperly analyzes the circumstances surrounding his securities violations. Berrettini does not address whether a permanent injunction should be entered against him.

Taking into account the totality of circumstances surrounding Defendants’ violations, the Court concludes that entry of a permanent injunction is warranted. First, considering the gravity of the harm, the SEC has presented evidence that Ber-rettini made a profit of $240,622 trading in Lifeline and Intermagnetics stock based on the inside information he obtained from Pirtle. Beyond the actual profits made in this case, “insider trading causes harm to the credibility of the public markets,” SEC v. Michel, 521 F.Supp.2d 795, 830 (N.D. Ill. 2007), by making would-be investors hesitant “to venture their capital in a market where trading based on misappropriated nonpublic information is unchecked by law,” United States v. O’Hagan, 521 U.S. 642, 658, 117 S.Ct. 2199, 138 L.Ed.2d 724 (1997).

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218 F. Supp. 3d 754, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151568, 2016 WL 6476456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-securities-exchange-commission-v-berrettini-ilnd-2016.