U.S. Court of Appeals Denies Whistleblower Petition

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ("Second Circuit") issued a decision that rejected a petition for the review of the SEC's denial of a claim for a whistleblower award.

The petitioner, Larry Stryker, sought a whistleblower award after the period between 2004 and 2009 when he supplied the SEC with information that led to a successful enforcement action. In January 2011, Mr. Stryker submitted an application to the SEC for a whistleblower award under Dodd-Frank Section 21F.

The SEC held that because the information provided by Mr. Stryker was submitted before the enactment of Dodd-Frank in July 2010, Mr. Stryker did not qualify for a whistleblower award. The SEC issued a final order in October 2013 denying Mr. Stryker's application, which Mr. Stryker appealed in a petition to the Second Circuit.

The Second Circuit denied Mr. Stryker's petition, finding that the SEC's interpretation of Section 21F was "reasonable." Additionally, the Second Circuit ruled that the information given by Mr. Stryker to the SEC did not qualify as "statutorily defined whistleblower information," since it neither conformed to SEC Rule 21F-4(b)(1)(iv) – which disqualifies information submitted prior to July 21, 2010 – nor fell within Congress's safe harbor provision, which states that to qualify as "original information," information must be submitted pursuant to the SEC's rule and regulations.

See: Second Circuit Decision.See also: Whistleblower Specialty Page (available to Cabinet subscribers only).