Mavs owner Mark Cuban on Tuesday lost his bid for a court order ending a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that accuses him of insider trading.
The regulator sued in 2008, accusing the Dallas billionaire of illegally selling his stake in the Internet search company Mamma.com in June 2004 after gaining insider information from its then-chief executive officer, Guy Faure. "It's an inside-information case, it's a misappropriation case," SEC attorney Kevin O'Rourke said.Cuban argued that the SEC failed to show he promised to keep confidential information he had obtained from Faure."Although the question whether Cuban is entitled to summary judgment is in some respects a close one, the court concludes that the SEC is entitled to present its case to a jury," U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater said in his ruling.The SEC claims that Cuban, upset upon learning of Mamma.com's plans for a below-market private placement, sold his 6.3 percent stake for about $7.9 million just hours after talking to Faure, avoiding a $750,000 loss.Mamma.com fell 8.5 percent on June 30, 2004, the first trading day after the private placement was announced, and 15 percent the day after the investor's sales were disclosed in a regulatory filing on July 2, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The Montreal company is now known as Copernic Inc.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
