The Make Believe of Janus - A Brief Case Comment Examining Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders

Rule 10b-5 prohibits 'making any untrue statement of a material fact' in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. The critical question considered by the Janus Court was how the term 'make' in Rule 10b-5 should be construed. The SEC contended that 'make' is synonymous with 'create,' which would allow it (and private plaintiffs) to assert a claim against one who provides false or misleading material information to another, who later includes it in a statement. However, the Court rejected this definition and found the phrase at issue in Rule 10b-5, 'to make . . . any statement,' to be the approximate equivalent of 'to state.'