Cite as: 503 U. S. 258 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
lated securities. Tr. of Oral Arg. 29.16 But SIPC stops there, leaving us to guess at the nature of the "common law rights of subrogation" that it claims, and failing to tell us whether they derive from federal or state common law, or, if the latter, from common law of which State.17 Nor does
SIPC explain why it declines to assert the rights of customers who bought manipulated securities.18
It is not these questions, however, that stymie SIPC's subrogation claim, for even assuming, arguendo, that it may stand in the shoes of nonpurchasing customers, the link is too remote between the stock manipulation alleged and the customers' harm, being purely contingent on the harm suffered by the broker-dealers. That is, the conspirators have allegedly injured these customers only insofar as the stock manipulation first injured the broker-dealers and left them without the wherewithal to pay customers' claims. Although the customers' claims are senior (in recourse to "customer property") to those of the broker-dealers' general creditors, see § 78fff-2(c)(1), the causes of their respective injuries are the same: The broker-dealers simply cannot pay their bills, and only that intervening insolvency connects the conspirators' acts to the losses suffered by the nonpurchasing customers and general creditors.
As we said, however, in Associated General Contractors, quoting Justice Holmes, " 'The general tendency of the law, in regard to damages at least, is not to go beyond the first step.' " 459 U. S., at 534 (quoting Southern Pacific Co. v.
16 And, SIPC made no allegation that any of these customers failed to do so in reliance on acts or omissions of the conspirators.
17 There is support for the proposition that SIPC can assert state-law subrogation rights against third parties. See Redington v. Touche Ross & Co., 592 F. 2d 617, 624 (CA2 1978), rev'd on other grounds, 442 U. S. 560 (1979). We express no opinion on this issue.
18 The record reveals that those customers have brought their own suit against the conspirators.
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