Victor Hong v. Securities and Exchange Commission, et al.

Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to, inter alia, assist the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in “identifying securities law violations by establishing a new, robust whistleblower program designed to motivate people who know of securities law violations to tell the SEC.” S. Rep. No. 111-176, at 38 (2010). To incentivize such whistleblowers, Congress amended the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) to entitle individuals who voluntarily provide original information to the SEC that leads to the successful enforcement of a covered judicial or administrative action, or related action, to a nondiscretionary cash award of 10 to 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected in the enforcement action. 15 U.S.C. §78u-6(b). “Covered Judicial or Administrative Action” is defined only as “any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under the securities laws that results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.” 15 U.S.C. §78u-6(a)(1). The Question Presented is: What is an “action” within the Exchange Act’s securities whistleblower incentive program, 15 U.S.C. §78u-6(a)(1)?