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Full-Text Articles in Securities Law
Symposium Transcript, Selina K. Hewitt
Who Should Do The Math? Materiality Issues In Disclosures That Require Investors To Calculate The Bottom Line, Stefan J. Padfield
Who Should Do The Math? Materiality Issues In Disclosures That Require Investors To Calculate The Bottom Line, Stefan J. Padfield
Pepperdine Law Review
Corporations sometimes tread a fine line by disclosing the data necessary to calculate the bottom line impact of a particular set of facts, while failing to disclose the bottom line itself. For example, in 2002, Merck & Co., Inc., disclosed that one of its subsidiaries had recognized as revenue co-payments it never actually received, but failed to disclose that the total amount so recognized was $5.54 billion for the year 2001. When plaintiffs challenge such incomplete disclosure, courts routinely dismiss their claims based upon what I call the Simple Math rule. The Simple Math rule states that, assuming a material …