On Nov. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Facebook v. Amalgamated Bank, a securities law case involving corporate risk factor disclosures.
In a one-sentence order, the Court announced that the case had been dismissed because certiorari had been "improvidently granted." In other words, the Court opted not to rule on the merits and acknowledged that it should not have taken the case. The dismissal leaves in place an U.S. appeals court ruling in favor of investors who sued Facebook, claiming that the company downplayed the risk of a data breach in its Form 10-K filings.
In August, the Society filed an amicus brief in the case that provided additional context about how companies utilize the risk factors section to address prospective risks while employing other sections of the 10-K to discuss ongoing trends, litigation, and cybersecurity breaches.