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Abstract
A Texas jury recently returned a complete verdict for Mark Cuban in the SEC's insider trading case against him. Aside from the media intrigue surrounding Cuban's fight against the SEC, the case teed up for decision a critical and open issue concerning the nature of the "duty" upon which misappropriation claims are predicated. Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, had been charged with insider trading for the 2004 sale of his Mamma.com stock. The sale allegedly helped Cuban avoid losing $750,000. In defending against the SEC's charges, which were first filed in 2008, Cuban almost surely spent several times that amount. The Cuban trial was the latest battle in a lengthy four-plus year war between Cuban and the SEC, with each side gaining the upper hand at various points. To assess the potential significance of the verdict, one first needs to understand the phases of the litigation that preceded it.