In a decision with significant implications for securities litigation and enforcement, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently rebuffed an attempt by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to broaden the scope of “scheme liability” under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. While the SEC argued that recent Supreme Court jurisprudence had paved the way for scheme liability claims based solely on misrepresentations, the Second Circuit disagreed, holding that “misstatements and omissions can form part of a scheme liability claim, but an actionable scheme liability claim also requires something beyond misstatements and omissions, such as dissemination.” As an opinion from one of the nation’s leading courts in the field of securities litigation, SEC v. Rio Tinto plc merits the attention of practitioners and issuers alike. Read our full update here.