We previously covered the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Mark Cuban. Today brings some good news on that front for the billionaire businessman. From Mark Cuban’s brother, lawyer / blogger Brian Cuban:

Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater said in a 35-page ruling released Friday that the SEC had failed to prove that Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, “undertook a duty of non-use of information required to establish liability under the misappropriation theory of insider trading.”

As the SEC has 30 days to amend the complaint, further comment by me would be inappropriate until the deadline has passed.

The complete ruling is here (PDF). Professor Stephen Bainbridge offers more detailed analysis.

SEC Dimissed Lawsuit Against Mark Cuban [The Cuban Revolution]
Mark Cuban Wins a Big Round Against SEC Insider Trading Rap [Professor Bainbridge]
SEC’s Insider Trading Suit Against Mark Cuban Is Dismissed [WSJ Law Blog]
SEC v. Cuban [PDF]

Earlier: Mark Cuban: Meet the SEC

Maybe the disastrous Jason Kidd trade made Mark Cuban think that he needed better information before he pulled the trigger on a big deal.

Cuban was sued by the SEC today for insider trading. Embarrassingly, Cuban allegedly tried to game the market on a crappy stock that nobody’s ever heard of: Mamma.com. The company is now called Copernic, and its stock stinks.

The complaint alleges that Cuban violated an agreement to keep certain information confidential:

Despite agreeing in June 2004 to keep material, non-public information about an impending stock offering by Mamma.com Inc. confidential, Cuban sold his entire stake in the company - 600,000 shares - prior to the public announcement of the offering. By selling when he did, Cuban avoided losses in excess of $750,000.

CNBC is enjoying reminding people that Cuban made his fortune selling his company Broadcast.com to Yahoo just before the dot com bubble burst. But let’s also remember that lots of people have become rich by getting the hell away from Yahoo.

Still, even if true, things are better for Cuban than they could be. At least he’s not being charged criminally (yet).

Statement from Cuban’s attorney, after the jump.