222 BLACKMUN, J., dissenting of Rule 10b-5 to insider trading. Both the SEC and the courts have stressed the insider's misuse of secret knowledge as the gravamen of illegal conduct. The Court, I think, unduly minimizes this aspect of prior decisions. Cady, Roberts & Co., 40 S. E. C. 907 (1961), which the Court discusses at some length, provides an illustration. In that case, the Commission defined the category of "insiders" subject to a disclose-or-abstain obligation according to two factors: "[F]irst, the existence of a relationship giving access, directly or indirectly, to information intended to be available only for a corporate purpose and not for the personal benefit of anyone, and second, the inherent unfairness involved where a party takes advantage of such information knowing it is unavailable to those with whom he is dealing." Id., at 912 (footnote omitted). The Commission, thus, regarded the insider "relationship" primarily in terms of access to nonpublic information, and not merely in terms of the presence of a common-law fiduciary duty or the like. This approach was deemed to be in keeping with the principle that "the broad language of the anti-fraud provisions" should not be "circumscribed by fine distinctions and rigid classifications," such as those that prevailed under the common law. Ibid. The duty to abstain or disclose arose, not merely as an incident of fiduciary responsibility, but as a result of the "inherent unfairness" of turning secret information to account for personal profit. This understanding of Rule 10b-5 was reinforced when Investors Management Co., 44 S. E. C. 633, 643 (1971), specifically rejected the contention that a "special relationship" between the alleged violator and an "insider" source was a necessary requirement for liability. A similar approach has been followed by the courts. In SEC v. Texas Gulf Sulphur Co., 401 F. 2d 833, 848 (CA2 BLACKMUN, J., dissenting 445 U.S. 1968) (en banc), cert. denied sub nom. Coates v. SEC, 394 U. S. 976 (1969), the court specifically mentioned the common-law "special facts" doctrine as one source for Rule 10b-5, and it reasoned that the Rule is "based in policy on the justifiable expectation of the securities marketplace that all investors trading on impersonal exchanges have relatively equal access to material information." See also Lewelling v. First California Co., 564 F. 2d 1277, 1280 (CA9 1977); Speed v. Transamerica Corp., 99 F. Supp. 808, 829 (Del. 1951). In addition, cases such as Myzel v. Fields, 386 F. 2d 718, 739 (CA8 1967), cert. denied, 390 U. S. 951 (1968), and A. T. Brod & Co. v. Perlow, 375 F. 2d 393, 397 (CA2 1967), have stressed that § 10 (b) and Rule 10b-5 apply to any kind of fraud by any person. The concept of the "insider" itself has been flexible; wherever confidential information has been abused, prophylaxis has followed. See, e. g., Zweig v. Hearst Corp., 594 F. 2d 1261 (CA9 1979) (financial columnist); Shapiro v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 495 F. 2d 228 (CA2 1974) (institutional investor); SEC v. Shapiro, 494 F. 2d 1301 (CA2 1974) (merger negotiator); Chasins v. Smith, Barney & Co., 438 F. 2d 1167 (CA2 1970) (market maker). See generally 2 A. Bromberg & L. Lowenfels, Securities Law & Commodities Fraud § 7.4 (6) (b) (1979). I believe, and surely thought, that this broad understanding of the duty to disclose under Rule 10b-5 was recognized and approved in Affiliated Ute Citizens v. United States, 406 U. S. 128 (1972). That case held that bank agents dealing in the stock of a Ute Indian development corporation had a duty to reveal to mixed-blood Indian customers that their shares could bring a higher price on a non-Indian market of which the sellers were unaware. Id., at 150-153. The Court recognized that "by repeated use of the word 'any,'" the statute and Rule "are obviously meant to be inclusive." Id., at 151. Although it found a relationship of trust between 222 BLACKMUN, J., dissenting the agents and the Indian sellers, the Court also clearly established that the bank and its agents were subject to the strictures of Rule 10b-5 because of their strategic position in the marketplace. The Indian sellers had no knowledge of the non-Indian market. The bank agents, in contrast, had intimate familiarity with the non-Indian market, which they had promoted actively, and from which they and their bank both profited. In these circumstances, the Court held that the bank and its agents "possessed the affirmative duty under the Rule" to disclose market information to the Indian sellers, and that the latter "had the right to know" that their shares would sell for a higher price in another market. Id., at 153. It seems to me that the Court, ante, at 229-230, gives Affiliated Ute Citizens an unduly narrow interpretation. As I now read my opinion there for the Court, it lends strong support to the principle that a structural disparity in access to material information is a critical factor under Rule 10b-5 in establishing a duty either to disclose the information or to abstain from trading. Given the factual posture of the case, it was unnecessary to resolve the question whether such a structural disparity could sustain a duty to disclose even absent "a relationship of trust and confidence between parties to a transaction." Ante, at 230. Nevertheless, I think the rationale of Affiliated Ute Citizens definitely points toward an affirmative answer to that question. Although I am not sure I fully accept the "market insider" category created by the Court of Appeals, I would hold that persons having access to confidential material information that is not legally available to others generally are prohibited by Rule 10b-5 from engaging in schemes to exploit their structural informational advantage through trading in affected securities. To hold otherwise, it seems to me, is to tolerate a wide range of manipulative and deceitful behavior. See Blyth & Co., 43 S. E. C. 1037 (1969); Herbert L. Honohan, 13 S. E. C. 754 (1943); see generally Brudney, Insiders, Outsiders, and Informational Advantages BLACKMUN, J., dissenting 445 U.S. under the Federal Securities Laws, 93 Harv. L. Rev. 322 (1979).2 Whatever the outer limits of the Rule, petitioner Chiarella's case fits neatly near the center of its analytical framework. He occupied a relationship to the takeover companies giving him intimate access to concededly material information that was sedulously guarded from public access. The information, in the words of Cady, Roberts & Co., 40 S. E. C., at 912, was "intended to be available only for a corporate purpose and not for the personal benefit of anyone." Petitioner, moreover, knew that the information was unavailable to those with whom he dealt. And he took full, virtually riskless advantage of this artificial information gap by selling the stocks shortly after each takeover bid was announced. By any reasonable definition, his trading was "inherent[ly] unfai[r]." Ibid. This misuse of confidential information was clearly placed before the jury. Petitioner's conviction, therefore, should be upheld, and I dissent from the Court's upsetting. that conviction. 2 The Court observes that several provisions of the federal securities laws limit but do not prohibit trading by certain investors who may possess nonpublic market information. Ante, at 233-234. It also asserts that "neither the Congress nor the Commission ever has adopted a parity-ofinformation rule." Ante, at 233. In my judgment, neither the observation nor the assertion undermines the interpretation of Rule 10b-5 that I support and that I have endeavored briefly to outline. The statutory provisions cited by the Court betoken a congressional purpose not to leave the exploitation of structural informational advantages unregulated. Letting Rule 10b-5 operate as a "catchall" to ensure that these narrow exceptions granted by Congress are not expanded by circumvention completes this statutory scheme. Furthermore, there is a significant conceptual distinction between parity of information and parity of access to material information. The latter gives free rein to certain kinds of informational advantages that the former might foreclose, such as those that result from differences in diligence or acumen. Indeed, by limiting opportunities for profit from manipulation of confidential connections or resort to stealth, equal access helps to ensure that advantages obtained by honest means reap their full reward. Syllabus UNITED STATES v. CLARKE ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 78-1693. Argued January 15, 16, 1980-Decided March 18, 1980 Held: Title 25 U. S. C. § 357, which provides that lands allotted in severalty to Indians may be "condemned" for any public purpose under the laws of the State or Territory where located, does not authorize a state or local government to "condemn" allotted Indian trust lands by physical occupation. Under the "plain meaning" canon of statutory construction, the term "condemned" in § 357 refers to a formal condemnation proceeding instituted by the condemning authority for the purpose of acquiring title to private property and paying just compensation for it, not to an "inverse condemnation" action by a landowner to recover compensation for a taking by physical intrusion. Thus, the Court of Appeals erred in holding that § 357 permitted acquisition of allotted lands by inverse condemnation by certain cities in Alaska, even though Alaska law might allow the exercise of the power of eminent domain through inverse condemnation. Pp. 254-259. 590 F. 2d 765, reversed. REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C. J., and BRENNAN, STEWART, MARSHALL, POWELL, and STEVENS, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which WHITE, J., joined, post, p. 259. Harlon L. Dalton argued the cause for the United States. With him on the brief were Solicitor General McCree, Assistant Attorney General Moorman, Dirk Snel, and Carl Strass. Robert S. Pelcyger argued the cause for Bertha Mae Tabbytite, respondent under this Court's Rule 21 (4), in support of the United States. With him on the briefs was Vincent Vitale. Richard Arthur Weinig argued the cause and filed a brief for respondents. |