Harold Harris, Continental Casualty Company, and National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, individually and on behalf of a class of bondholders, brought this action against Union Electric Company alleging violations of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and of Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Commission with respect to the issuance and proposed call of the First Mortgage Bonds of Union Electric Company. The district court 1 entered judgment on a jury verdict awarding the class $2,716, 240. Union Electric Company appeals, and for reversal it argues that 1) the plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations; 2) insufficient evidence exists to sustain the jury’s verdict on the plaintiffs’ section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims; 3) the court erroneously instructed the jury with respect to liability and damages; and 4) the court erroneously excluded evidence regarding market value and interest payments made after the plan to call the bonds was cancelled. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
In March of 1975, Union Electric Company (UE) issued $70,000,000 of its First Mortgage Bonds, IOV2 Series due March 1, 2005 pursuant to a Supplemental Indenture. The bonds had a par value of $1,000, and were sold to a group, or syndicate, of eighty-eight underwriters, who offered the bonds to the public. By April 9,1975, all of the bonds had been sold to the public, and the syndicate was dissolved. Harris purchased twelve bonds at 100% of par, or a total price of $12,000. Continental purchased 1,000 bonds in two transactions— 500 bonds at 98.25% of par, or $491,000, and 500 bonds at 102% of par, or $510,000. National purchased 3000 bonds in three transactions — 1,000 bonds at 100.55% of par, or $1,005,000, 1,500 bonds at 100.5625%, or $1,508,437.50, and 500 bonds at 100.25%, or $501,250.
On April 11, 1978, UE publicly announced its plan to call $50,000,000 of the Series 2005 Bonds. As a result of the announcement, the market value of the bonds plunged from approximately 113 to 101, or $120 per bond. To implement the plan, UE incurred short-term debt of $49,-887,000 in cash at an interest rate of less than 10.60%, which it deposited with its mortgage trustee; $49,187,000 was placed
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in UE’s Maintenance Fund and $700,000 was placed in its Improvement Fund. The short-term debt was to be replaced by a private placement of a long-term mortgage bond issue at 9.35%. Although UE instructed the trustee to call the Series 2005 Bonds, the trustee refused to do so without judicial approval because it questioned the legality of the plan to call the bonds through the Maintenance Fund. On May 9, 1978, the plaintiffs in this suit instituted a state court action in the Missouri State Circuit Court against UE and its trustee, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. The purchasers of the 9.35% bonds (the bonds that were to be sold to replace the short-term debt) refused to buy when they learned of the state court action. Consequently, on June 19, 1978, UE abandoned its plan, and withdrew the cash from the Maintenance Fund. In December of 1979, the Missouri Circuit Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed, construing the indentures and the bond contract to allow UE to call the Series 2005 Bonds as it had planned.
Harris v. Union Electric Co.,
The plaintiffs’ amended complaint alleged violations of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78j (b) (1982), and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Commission, 17 C.F.R. § 240.-10b-5 (1985). Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the prospectus for the Series 2005 Bonds misrepresented and omitted material facts regarding the call-protection provisions of the bond contract, and that the attempted plan to call the bonds constituted a scheme to defraud the bondholders because UE knew the plan was “contrary to and prohibited by the terms of the prospectus.” The district court certified the class pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3). The court’s amended definition of the class included “[a]ll persons, companies, and corporations who held First Mortgage Bonds of Union Electric Company, 10V2% Series, due March 1, 2005, as of the public redemption announcement by Union Electric Company on April 11, 1978.” The class consisted of 1,500 bondholders, holding a total of 67,906 bonds. After a bifurcated trial on the issues of liability and damages, the jury returned verdicts in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding them $2,716,240. The court entered its judgment in accordance with the verdicts, and UE appealed.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Statute of Limitations
UE contends that the plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the two-year statute of limitations set forth in section 409.411(e) of the Missouri Revised Statutes. UE argues that the claims are untimely because this action was commenced five years after the bonds were sold, and three years after several plaintiffs learned of a “similar plan” implemented by Florida Power & Light Company (FP & L). Although UE correctly identifies the appropriate statute of limitations, its argument must fail. In
Morris v. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.,
B. Rule 10b-5
The plaintiffs’ amended complaint alleged that UE’s conduct violated section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 in two respects, which they describe as disclosure fraud and transaction fraud. First, UE committed disclosure fraud when it misrepresented and omitted material facts in its prospectus concerning redemption and refunding rights. Second, UE engaged in a course of business and employed a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, constituting the transaction fraud, when it borrowed funds at an interest rate lower than 10.60%, deposited the funds in the Maintenance Fund, instructed the trustee to call the Series 2005 Bonds, and publicly announced its plan to call the bonds, causing the market price of the bonds to plummet.
UE contends that the evidence was insufficient to support a jury verdict for damages pursuant to Rule 10b-5 because no probative evidence was submitted to establish materiality, reliance, damages, or scienter with respect to the class in general, and specifically, with respect to those members who held bonds on April 11, 1978 (the date the plan was announced), but who did not purchase their bonds in 1975. 3 UE argues that the plaintiffs’ proof that UE officials were unaware of the possibility of calling the bonds until 1977, after FP & L implemented its plan, negates any allegation of scienter at the time the bonds were issued in 1975. UE claims that it could not have made a conscious effort to mislead investors in 1975 about the possibility of a plan that it was unaware existed until 1977. UE also argues that the plaintiffs failed to establish materiality. Although evidence was submitted showing that call-protection provisions in general are material, UE contends that the plaintiffs failed to show that an otherwise worded provision in the prospectus would have caused an average buyer to make a different investment decision. In fact, it is UE’s position that the prospectus clearly disclosed UE’s right to call the bonds in the manner in which the plan provided. It is also UE’s position that those members of the class who held bonds on the date the plan was announced, but who did not purchase their bonds in 1975, could not have relied on the misrepresentations and omissions of material fact allegedly made by UE in 1975. Therefore, UE argues, those members could not prove fraudulent conduct, materiality, or reliance. UE also contends that the class members as well as the named plaintiffs were not damaged. UE argues that because the plan was cancelled before any bonds were selected for call, bondholders did not sustain a loss. The evidence showing that the market value of the bonds dropped twelve points after the plan was announced, but *362 before it was cancelled, does not measure a loss by the bondholders.
Our review of these issues is governed by the “sufficiency of the evidence” standard. Factual issues determined by the jury will not be reversed by this court when the verdict is supported by substantial evidence in the record.
See Mizell v. United States,
Pursuant to section 10(b) of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, the Securities Exchange Commission promulgated Rule 10b-5, which proscribes fraudulent conduct in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
See St. Louis Union Trust Co. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.,
1. Prohibited Conduct
The plaintiffs contend that UE’s conduct with respect to the prospectus violated Rule 10b-5(b). It is the plaintiffs’ position that the redemption provisions in the prospectus provide an absolute ban on lower cost refunding before March 1, 1985. The plaintiffs argue that these provisions misrepresent or omit material facts concerning the call protection and redemption rights set forth in the bond contract. The applicable provisions of the prospectus provide:
The New Bonds are redeemable, at the option of the Company, at the redemption prices set forth herein, provided that, prior to March 1, 1985, the Company may not redeem any of the New Bonds (other than through the Improvement Fund or by the application of certain moneys in the Maintenance Fund or *363 otherwise in the trust estate) from or in anticipation of funds borrowed having an interest cost to the Company of less than 10.60% per annum. (This provision is located on the cover page of the prospectus.)
Redemption
Provision........Non-refundable, otherwise than through
the Improvement Fund or by the application of certain moneys in the Maintenance Fund or otherwise in the trust estate, at a lower interest cost prior to March 1,1985 (page 3 of the prospectus)
Redemption. The New Bonds are to be redeemable in whole or in part upon at least 30 days’ notice, at the election of the Company, at the applicable Regular Redemption Prices set forth in the following table, expressed in each case in percentages of principal amount, and at a Special Redemption Price of 100% of their principal amount, together with interest accrued to the redemption date; provided, however, that the New Bonds may not be so redeemed at the Regular Redemption Prices prior to March 1, 1985 if moneys for such redemption are obtained by the Company, directly or indirectly, from or in anticipation of borrowings by or for the account of the Company at an effective interest cost (computed in accordance with generally accepted financial practice) of 10.60% or less per annum. Regular Redemption Prices apply to all redemptions except in the following cases to which the Special Redemption Price will apply: (a) redemptions for the Improvement Fund for the New Bonds, or (b) redemptions by application of cash in the Maintenance Fund or from certain other moneys included in the trust estate, (page 28 of the prospectus) 5
Improvement Fund. So long as any New Bonds are outstanding, the Company will, on or before April 15 in each year beginning with 1977, provide an annual Improvement Fund for the New Bonds in an amount equal to 1% of the greatest principal amount of New Bonds issued prior to January 1 of such year, less New Bonds retired by application of certain moneys included in the trust estate, which amount may either be paid in cash or satisfied (i) by delivery of New Bonds theretofore issued and outstanding, or (ii) by application thereto of 60% of the amount of Net Bondable Value of Property Additions not subject to an Unfunded Prior Lien which the Company elects so to use. Moneys paid into the Improvement Fund for the New Bonds are to be applied to the redemption of New Bonds. (March 1975) Supplementary Indenture, Art. IV.) Similar improvement funds are provided for Bonds of prior Series by the supplemental indentures under which such Bonds were issued, except that certain of such funds may be satisfied by application of 100% of the amount of Net Bondable Value of Property Additions not subject to an Unfunded Prior Lien which the Company elects so to use. (page 29 of the prospectus)
Maintenance Fund. So long as any New Bonds are outstanding, the Company is required, on or before April 15 in each year, to deposit with the Trustee an amount in cash equal to 15% of its Gross Operating Revenues for the preceding year (after certain deductions including expenditures for maintenance and repairs). Such deposit may be reduced by certain credits, including the amount of property retirements not in excess of property additions, any available balance of Net Bondable Value of Property Additions not subject to an Unfunded Prior Lien and the principal amount of Bonds retired (except out of trust estate moneys). Moneys paid into the Maintenance Fund may be added to any of the improvement funds for the New Bonds or Bonds of prior Series and applied to redemption of Bonds to which such improvement fund relates. (1941 Supplemental Indenture, Part IV, Sec. 5; March *364 1975 Supplemental Indenture Act, Art. IV, Sec. 5.) (page 29 of the prospectus)
The parties’ arguments focus on the call-protection provision on the cover page of the prospectus. The plaintiffs interpret this provision as setting forth an absolute prohibition on lower cost refunding by UE. The plaintiffs contend that the parenthetical in that provision is an exception to the restriction on redeeming bonds before March 1, 1985. The plaintiffs argue that this exception does not apply, however, to the restriction that follows that parenthetical, the restriction on lower cost refunding. According to this interpretation, if UE wanted to call the bonds before March 1, 1985, it could not do so with funds borrowed at an interest rate of less than 10.60%, even if UE implemented the call through the Improvement or Maintenance Funds. UE argues, on the other hand, that the parenthetical is an exception to both the restriction on call that precedes the parenthetical, and the restriction that follows it. According to this interpretation, UE could not redeem the bonds before March 1, 1985 with funds borrowed at less than 10.60% unless UE did so through the Improvement or Maintenance Funds.
Although both the plaintiffs’ and UE’s interpretations of the cover-page provision are plausible, we do not limit our determination to this single provision. To the contrary, we consider the prospectus in its entirety, as we assume the jury did, together with the intentions of the parties. When the cover-page provision is read together with the redemption provisions on pages three and twenty-eight, and with the Improvement and Maintenance Fund provisions on page twenty-nine, it is clear that the jury could have reasonably found that the prospectus is ambiguous and misleading in that it omits material facts concerning the call protection. This finding is supported by the testimony of the purchasers, underwriters, and UE officials, all expressing the mutual intent of the parties that the bonds would possess solid protection against call for ten years.
Article VIII, section 8 of the bond contract has been judicially construed by the Missouri Court of Appeals to authorize lower cost refunding at the special redemption prices.
Harris v. Union Electric Co.,
The testimony of several UE officials and sophisticated market analysts also supports a finding by the jury that the prospectus is misleading and omits material facts concerning the call protection. These experienced individuals believed that the prospectus prohibited UE from refunding the bonds at a lower interest rate for ten years. Mr. Welshans, UE’s Vice President of Finance, testified that the thrust of the representation that UE was making in the prospectus to the members of the general public or whomever bought the bonds was that the company would not refund the bonds at a lower rate of interest for ten years. Record Tr. 3-89-90. Mr. Murray, the Corporate Secretary, and Mr. Smith, a vice president and General Counsel, both testified that UE intended to give protection against call for ten years. Mr. Fend-rich, a vice president at Standard and Poor’s Corporation testified that he could not understand how protection against lower cost refunding at a premium, but not at par, could be considered valid protection; he stated that this “protection” made “no sense.” Finally, Mr. Calder, a vice president at Lehman Brothers, one of the underwriters for the Series 2005 Bonds and an expert in underwriting and investment banking, testified that the redemption provision on page twenty-eight of the prospectus accurately reflected his understanding that the bonds were nonrefundable at a lower interest cost for ten years. This testimony clearly indicates that these people interpreted the prospectus as prohibiting UE from refunding the Series 2005 Bonds for ten years at a lower rate of interest, which is contrary to UE’s rights as construed in the bond contract. It is also clear from the testimony of the purchasers, as well as UE officials, that both parties intended that the bonds would possess solid call protection.
Based on the language of the prospectus, the testimony of the parties expressing their intentions, and the testimony of the market experts, we conclude that the plaintiffs produced sufficient evidence for the jury to have found that the prospectus is ambiguous and misleading in that it omitted material facts that would have adequately disclosed UE’s right to call the *366 bonds, in violation of Rule 10b-5(b). We also conclude that the evidence is sufficient for the jury to have found that these omissions were part of a larger scheme or course of business to defraud the bondholders. To knowingly implement a plan in 1978 to call bonds that were previously intended and marketed as having solid call protection until 1985, constitutes a course of business, or a device, scheme, or artifice that operates as a fraud on the bondholders in violation of Rule 10b-5(a) and (c). Therefore, UE’s conduct falls within all three subparagraphs of Rule 10b-5. 8
2. Causation
To satisfy the causation element, the plaintiffs were required to show “some causal nexus” between UE’s conduct and the plaintiffs’ loss.
St. Louis Union Trust Co.,
A fact is “material if it is substantially likely that a reasonable investor would consider the matter important in making an investment decision.”
Austin v. Loftsgaarden,
3. Damages
In securities fraud cases, damages are determined in accordance with the extent to which a plaintiff is actually damaged as a result of the defendant’s fraudulent conduct.
Austin,
The proper measure of damages in this case is the difference between the purchase price and the actual value of the bonds on the date they were issued. This remedy is best suited to the harm in this case because it represents the reduc *368 tion in the value of the bonds caused by the lack of call protection. Although the plaintiffs purchased the bonds for less than 101, the bonds were worth much less because the call protection that the plaintiffs thought they were purchasing did not exist. The plaintiffs paid more for the bonds than they were actually worth. This is not one of those cases recognized by the court in Harris v. American Investment Co. in which the value of the security should be determined on the date the fraud was discovered because its true value on the date it was purchased is too difficult to ascertain. To the contrary, we believe that the true value of the bonds on the date they were issued is reflected by the drop in the market price once the fraud was discovered. We agree with the plaintiffs that the reduction in market value fairly represents the reduction in the initial purchase price of the bonds that would have been necessary in order to sell them at 1072% without the call protection. The plaintiffs introduced ample evidence demonstrating that if UE had issued the bonds without the ten-year-call protection, the plaintiffs would have either paid a substantially lower price for the bonds or demanded a higher coupon rate. The evidence indicated that “at least two major underwriters,” Merrill Lynch and Halsey Stuart, advised UE that it would cost the company several basis points if the bonds were issued without the call protection. This evidence was supported by the testimony of UE officials and market analysts that the bonds could not have been sold for par and at 1072% without the ten-year-call protection. (See, for example, the testimony of Mr. Welshans, Record Tr. 3-63-73.) We conclude, therefore, that the jury could reasonably find on the basis of these facts that UE’s conduct in announcing its plan to call the bonds, which rendered the representations in the prospectus misleading, caused the plaintiffs’ damages. Further, we hold that the damages are best measured by the difference between the purchase price of the bonds and their true value on the date purchased. 10
4. In connection with
Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 proscribe fraudulent conduct “in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.” 15 U.S.C. § 78j (1982); 17 C.F.R. § 240.-10b-5 (1985). Plaintiffs must show that the fraudulent conduct “touches” the purchase or sale of the securities.
See Superintendent of Insurance v. Bankers Life & Casualty Co.,
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Finally, the plaintiffs were required to prove scienter, that is, that UE engaged in the fraudulent conduct with an intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud the bondholders.
See Hochfelder,
*370
UE relies heavily on
Lucas v. Florida Power & Light Co.,
During oral argument, UE urged the court to consider the holding in
Feldbaum v. Avon Products, Inc.,
UE’s argument is unpersuasive for two reasons. First, UE’s reasoning is accurate only to the extent that any theory of recovery pursuant to section 10(b) and Rule lob-5, whatever terminology is used to describe it, is not viable
unless
the plaintiff alleges and proves “intentional or willful conduct designed to deceive or defraud investors.”
Hochfelder,
In sum, we hold that the verdicts are supported by substantial evidence in the record. The plaintiffs introduced sufficient evidence from which the jury could have found that the parties mutually intended that the bonds would possess solid protec *371 tion against call for ten years, that this protection was material and affected the price of the bonds, and that it was relied upon by the plaintiffs. The evidence also supported a finding by the jury that UE intended to defraud the investors of this protection when it announced its plan to call the bonds in 1978, causing the market value of the bonds to drop. Finally, the evidence showed that as a result of UE’s fraudulent conduct between March, 1975 and April, 1978, the value of the bonds purchased by the plaintiffs was less than the price they paid, which was reflected by the market drop once the investors discovered the fraud. Consequently, UE’s conduct violated all three subparagraphs of Rule 10b-5. Therefore, we will not disturb the jury’s verdicts on the plaintiffs’ section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims.
C. Instructions
UE contends that the court erroneously instructed the jury with respect to both liability and damages. The instructions reflect the bifurcated nature of the trial. In the liability portion of the trial, the jury was instructed not to be concerned with ascertaining a specific dollar amount of damages. Instead, the court instructed the jury “to determine in a general sense, whether or not the plaintiffs have sustained some damage.”
UE argues that the instructions failed to require a finding by the jury that the plaintiffs suffered a causally related loss. UE’s argument is without merit. When a portion of the jury instructions are challanged, we must look to the instructions as a whole.
Simpson v. Norwesco, Inc.,
With respect to damages, UE argues that the court erroneously instructed the jury on the proper measure of damages. We thoroughly addressed this issue in our discussion above, and concluded that the damage measurement was proper. UE also argues that the jury should have been instructed to reduce the amount of damages by the value of any benefits received by the bondholders as a result of their investment. This argument is also without merit. In support of its position, UE relies on
Austin,
D. Exclusion of Evidence
Finally, UE contends that the court erred in excluding all evidence concerning the market value of the bonds after the plan was cancelled. Specifically, UE argues that the court should have allowed its witness to testify that the market value of the bonds merely dropped as a result of UE’s announcement of the plan, and that when the plan was cancelled, the bonds recovered. UE argues that because the bonds recovered, the plaintiffs did not suffer a loss. UE also argues that the court erroneously excluded evidence of the plaintiffs’ continued receipt of interest payments.
The district court has broad discretion concerning the admissibility of evidence, and we will disturb the court’s ruling only upon a clear showing of an abuse
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of that discretion.
Smith v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.,
III. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we hold that the plaintiffs’ cause of action was not barred by the statute of limitations, the evidence is sufficient to sustain the jury’s verdicts on the section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims, and the court did not err in instructing the jury or in excluding UE’s proffered evidence. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Notes
. The Honorable William L. Hungate, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
. UE also contends that the court’s amended definition of the class erroneously operated retroactively to include parties and claims otherwise barred by the two-year statute of limitations. The district court has “broad discretion in determining whether a class action may be maintained, and its determination will not be overturned absent a showing that it abused that discretion.”
Shapiro
v.
Midwest Rubber Reclaiming Co.,
. With the few exceptions that we address in our discussion, UE’s arguments under its first, second, and third brief points can be characterized as challenging the sufficiency of the plaintiffs’ evidence to prove their section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims.
. Section 10 provides:
It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, or of the mails or of any facility of any national securities exchange—
* * * * * *
(b) To use or employ, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security registered on a national securities exchange or any security not so registered, any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in contravention of such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.
15 U.S.C. § 78j(b) (1982). Rule 10b-5 provides:
It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, or of the mails or of any facility of any national securities exchange,
(a) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud,
(b) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or
(c) To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.
17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (1985).
. Following this provision, on page twenty-eight of the prospectus, is a list of the "Regular Redemption Prices" for each year from 1975 to 2004, expressed in a percentage of par. The prices begin at a premium of 110.50% in 1975, and decrease to 100%, or par, in the year 2004.
. The "Special Redemption Price” of par only applies to redemptions in an amount equal to the required deposit — one percent of the outstanding issue. Therefore, had UE called the *365 bonds according to the Maintenance Fund Provision, it would have been forced to pay a premium after the first $700,000 of the call. (See the testimony of Stewart Smith, a vice president and General Counsel of UE, Record Tr. 6-24.)
. Consequently, the prospectus, having been drafted by UE, should be interpreted and construed liberally in favor of the investors, and strictly against UE.
See Corso v. Creighton University,
. UE argues that it cannot, as a matter of law, violate Rule 10b-5 because it was acting pursuant to a contractual right provided for in the bond contract as later construed by the Missouri Court of Appeals. In support of its position, UE cites
Broad v. Rockwell International Corp.,
. UE also contends that the evidence is insufficient to establish reliance by those bondholders who held bonds on April 11, 1978, but who did not purchase them in 1975. UE argues that these bondholders did not rely on the alleged omissions of material fact by UE in 1975. We disagree. False or misleading information, such as that involved in this case, can actually harm investors directly — through actual reliance, or indirectly — by affecting the market upon which the investor relied and traded.
Shapiro v. Midwest Rubber Reclaiming Co.,
. UE also urges that because the plan was cancelled, the plaintiffs were not damaged, and therefore they lacked standing to sue. We disagree. As a result of UE’s fraudulent scheme or course of business, the plaintiffs paid for call protection that they in fact did not receive. Consequently, the plaintiffs were injured, and have standing to sue.
. UE also argues that, with the exception of the named plaintiffs, the evidence did not establish that each member of the class was a purchaser of the bonds. The Supreme Court has ruled that only purchasers or sellers of securities may maintain a private cause of action for money damages pursuant to Rule 10b-5.
Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores,
. The district court instructed the jury that reckless behavior would constitute scienter. Instruction No. 18A. Although the Supreme Court has explicitly left open the question whether reckless behavior satisfies the scienter requirement, Hoc
hfelder,
