SODHA, ET AL. V. GOLUBOWSKI, ET AL.

9th CircuitAug 29, 2025

Split Score

SplitScore: 53/100

Case Summary

Disposition

Affirmed in Part

The Ninth Circuit reviewed the dismissal of investors’ Securities Act claims arising from Robinhood’s 2021 IPO. It vacated the dismissal of theories based on Section 11’s misleading-omission prong and Item 303 because the district court applied the First Circuit’s ‘extreme-departure’ test; adopting the Second Circuit view, the panel held that issuers must disclose all material interim information. It affirmed dismissal of claims premised on Item 105 risk-factor disclosures.

Circuit Split Identified

Legal Issue

Whether Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act impose a duty to disclose interim financial information whenever the information is material, or only when the interim results constitute an ‘extreme departure’ from prior periods.

Circuit Positions

2nd Circuit9th Circuit(this circuit)

Duty to disclose interim financial information exists whenever the omitted information is material; no additional ‘extreme-departure’ threshold.

1st Circuit

Issuer must disclose interim results only when they reflect an ‘extreme departure’ from historical trends.

Conflict Summary

The Second and Ninth Circuits hold that, when a prior disclosure is rendered misleading by subsequent events, the duty to disclose coalesces with the ordinary materiality standard; the First Circuit applies an additional ‘extreme departure’ threshold, requiring disclosure only if interim results deviate dramatically from historical performance.

Parties & Counsel

Parties

Appellant:Vinod Sodha and Amee Sodha
Appellee:Robinhood Markets, Inc. and related defendants

Legal Counsel

Appellant:Deborah Clark-Weintraub, Emilie B. Kokmanian, Thomas L. Laughlin IV (Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP); Hal Cunningham, John T. Jasnoch (Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP)
Appellee:Kevin Orsini, Antony L. Ryan, Brittany L. Sukiennik (Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP); Elizabeth A. Kim, Mark R. Conrad (Conrad Metlitzky Kane LLP); Richard Jacobsen, Jennifer Keighley, Alexander K. Talarides, James N. Kramer (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)

Opinion Document