Kelly v. Carr

691 F.2d 800
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit·Decided May 16, 1980·No. Nos. 78-1091, 78-1092, 78-5442 and 78-5460·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

KEITH, Circuit Judge.

Defendants Carr and Lloyd Carr and Co., et al.1 appeal judgments of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Honorable Noel P. Fox presiding, enjoining defendants from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act2 and imposing criminal contempt sanctions for violations of a temporary restraining order.

The state of Michigan, by its Attorney General, Frank J. Kelly, initiated a. lawsuit [802]*802against Lloyd Carr and Company alleging violations of various sections of both the Michigan Uniform Securities Act, MCLA— §§ 451.501 et seq. (1977) and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, MCLA — §§ 445.-901 et seq. (1977) for fraudulently transacting business related to the selling of commodities futures. This action was filed in the Circuit Court for the County of Ingham, a Michigan State Court on October 13,1977. The defendants removed the case to the United States district court on October 31, 1977. Two days later, on November 2,1977, the state of Michigan amended its complaint to include violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Federal Commodity Exchange Act contained in 7 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq. (1977).3 On November 3, 1977, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (C.F.T.C.) filed a “permissive” motion to intervene in the removed action under Rule 24(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Simultaneously with its motion to intervene on November 3,1977, the C.F.T.C. filed a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction and Order Appointing a Receiver concomitant with its complaint for the same.

Thereafter, on November 7,1977, the district court granted the Motion to Intervene and issued a Temporary Restraining Order explicitly in response to plaintiff’s (the Attorney General) First Amended complaint for preliminary and permanent injunction and the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). On December 5, 1977, the district court granted the preliminary injunction enjoining defendants from defrauding and deceiving customers with misleading information, and from destroying records. The injunction also compelled defendants to provide the Commission with access to company records. Additionally, a Special Master was appointed and notice of the injunction to all employees was directed.

On January 9, 1978, the C.F.T.C. filed an application for an Order to Show Cause why defendants should not be punished for criminal contempt. This application responded in part to the failure of Lloyd Carr’s branch offices to provide the C.F.T.C. access to company books and records as mandated by the December 5, 1977 district court order. Indeed, following a hearing the district court found Appellants in contempt for violation of its order.

On appeal, appellants contend that both the injunction and the criminal contempt sanctions should be overturned because the enforcement of Michigan’s Anti-Fraud statute by its Attorney General has been preempted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., as amended, and the federal district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction by virtue of a defective removal. As the preemption issue is inextricably tied to the defective jurisdictional question, we address them as one.

Additionally, Appellant Shuster separately argues that his conviction for criminal contempt should be reversed on the substantive grounds that he had no notice of the terms of the injunction prior to his arrest.4 We first must determine whether the district court had jurisdiction to enter the orders of November 7,1977 and December 5, 1977. Secondly, we address the issue of whether, given the circumstances, the criminal contempt convictions can be permitted to stand.

[803]*803To the extent that the district court assumed subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint filed by the state of Michigan, an examination of the applicable laws leads this court to conclude that the district court improvidently allowed removal. However, quite fortuitously, the somewhat convoluted configuration of facts and parties coupled with technical procedural rules permit affirmance of the injunction against the defendant Lloyd Carr & Co. To unravel this procedural knot, we must focus on how the district court acquired jurisdiction upon defendants’ removal.

Because the underlying action involves commodities futures, an area whose regulation the Congress has committed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, we must ascertain the role left the states, as our first step in the analysis of this procedural puzzle.

The Commodities Options Industry

The commodities business operates as a market place for contracts. The contracts traded are for the purchase or sale of specific amounts of a commodity which either already have been produced, or which will be produced in the future and delivered at a specified date. This latter group of contracts are labeled ‘Commodity Futures.’ A ‘commodity option’ is á contractual right to buy or sell a commodity or commodity future by some specific date at a specified, fixed price; known as the striking price. A contract entitling its owner to purchase the commodity is known as a ‘call’ while a contract to sell is referred to as a ‘put.’ In the simplest case, an option is created, or ‘written’ by the owner of a commodity or commodity futures contracts, who commits himself to sell his goods or contract. But an option can also be written by anyone else willing to take the chance that he will be able to cover his obligations in the futures market if the option purchaser decides to exercise the option. Such an option is described as “naked.”5

Intimations of difficulties in the commodity options market came to the attention of Congress in the early 1970’s: existing laws had not worked well in preventing abuses in the options industry. Options were an especially hospitable environment for abuse because a naked option could be created out of nothing. Responding to this and similar abuses, in 1974 Congress simultaneously amended the old Commodity Exchange Act and created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (C.F.T.C.) to regulate the commodity futures industry.6 The idea that the C.F.T.C. should regulate the area was firmly expressed.7

Despite the expressed authority of the Commission to regulate commodity futures, there was extensive discussion on whether the grant of exclusive authority actually was meant to totally preclude state involvement in the commodities industry.8

[804]*804I

Appellants contend that the commitment of regulatory authority to the Commission preempted the Attorney General from enforcing the State’s antifraud laws.9 Furthermore, assuming the preemption argument does not prevail, appellants argue that the federal district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction because the removal was based on violations of state law.10

Examination of appellants’ argument suggests three (3) separate questions for discussion.

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Kelly v. Carr, 691 F.2d 800 (6th Cir. 1980).

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Kelly v. Carr
691 F.2d 800 (Sixth Circuit, 1980)