Case: 25-7516, 01/23/2026, DktEntry: 33.1, Page 49 of 110
Section 1a(47)(A)(ii) is part of a six-part definition of “swap.” 7 U.S.C.
§ 1a(47)(A). When a definition contains multiple parts, a court should look
to the other parts to inform the meaning of the part at issue. Yates v. United
States , 574 U.S. 528, 543-44 (2015) ( noscitur a sociis canon). If the other
parts all share a common thread, the court should interpret the part at issue
also to contain that thread. E.g. , Beecham v. United States , 511 U.S. 368,
371 (1994).
Here, all other parts of the definition refer to specific “financial
measures, indices, or instruments” used to hedge risk. 1-ER-15. Parts (i)
and (iii) cover specific financial instruments that involve “financial or eco-
nomic interests” such as “interest or other rates, currencies, commodities,
[or] securities or property of any kind.” 7 U.S.C . § 1a(47)(A)(i), (iii). Part
(iii) further lists 22 “commonly known” swaps. Id. § 1a(47)(A)(iii). Part (iv)
covers any contract “that is or in the future becomes, commonly known to
the trade as a swap.” Id. § 1a(47)(A)(iv). Part (v) covers certain “security-
based swap agreement[s]” in which “a material term is based on the price,
yield, value, or volatility of any security.” Id. § 1a(47)(A)(v). And part (vi)
covers any contract “that is any combination or permutation” of contracts in
the five previous parts. Id. § 1a(47)(A)(vi). Part (ii) should be read in con-
text to also cover financial instruments based on inherently economic
events, not sports bets. 1-ER-15.
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