United States v. Douglas Decinces

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedDecember 22, 2015
Docket15-50033
StatusPublished

This text of United States v. Douglas Decinces (United States v. Douglas Decinces) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Douglas Decinces, (9th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 15-50033 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. v. 8:12-cr-00269- AG-1 DOUGLAS V. DECINCES, Defendant-Appellee,

DAVID PARKER; F. SCOTT JACKSON; ROGER WITTENBACH; JAMES MAZZO, Defendants.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 15-50058 Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. v. 8:12-cr-00269- AG-5 JAMES V. MAZZO, Defendant-Appellant. OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Andrew J. Guilford, District Judge, Presiding 2 UNITED STATES V. DECINCES

Argued and Submitted September 1, 2015—Pasadena, California

Filed December 22, 2015

Before: Susan P. Graber, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Paul J. Watford, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Rawlinson; Concurrence by Judge Watford

SUMMARY*

Criminal Law

The panel reversed the district court’s pretrial order granting motions in limine, and dismissed a cross-appeal for lack of jurisdiction, in a case in which Douglas DeCinces, James Mazzo, and others are charged with insider-trading offenses.

The panel held that it has jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731 to entertain the government’s interlocutory appeal of the district court’s order granting DeCinces’s and Mazzo’s motions in limine. The panel explained that the fact that the district court’s order was not final under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 does not bar the appeal under § 3731, and that because the district court granted the motions, it is immaterial that the district court described its ruling as tentative. The panel held

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. UNITED STATES V. DECINCES 3

that although the excluded evidence was “other acts” evidence within the meaning of Fed. R. Evid. 404(b), it was admissible thereunder to show intent, plan, knowledge, or lack of mistake; and that taken as a whole, it was not categorically inadmissible under Fed. R. Evid. 403.

The panel dismissed for lack of jurisdiction Mazzo’s interlocutory cross-appeal challenging the district court’s order denying his motion to dismiss the portion of the indictment alleging securities fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1348. The panel held that it has no pendent appellate jurisdiction because the evidentiary issues raised by the government’s appeal are largely distinct from those concerning the scope and application of § 1348 raised in Mazzo’s appeal. The panel held that it lacks jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine because the issue he raises – whether multiplicitous punishment would be allowed for § 1348 and Rule 10b-5 charges that, regardless of his double jeopardy claim, may be tried – is reviewable on appeal from a final judgment.

Concurring, Judge Watford agreed that the panel lacks jurisdiction over Mazzo’s cross-appeal under the collateral order doctrine. He wrote that Mazzo has no colorable claim under the Double Jeopardy Clause, which just precludes the court from entering convictions on both the Rule 10b-5 and § 1348 counts in the event he is convicted of both at trial, and that hasn’t happened yet. 4 UNITED STATES V. DECINCES

COUNSEL

Eileen M. Decker, United States Attorney, Robert E. Dugdale, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, Criminal Division, Stephen A. Cazares (argued), Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Chief, Major Frauds Section, Mark R. Yohalem (argued), Lawrence E. Kole, Jennifer L. Waier, and Ivy A. Wang, Assistant United States Attorneys, Los Angeles, California, for Plaintiff-Appellant/Plaintiff- Appellee.

Richard Marmaro, Douglas A. Smith, Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Los Angeles, California; Clifford M. Sloan (argued), Michael A. McIntosh, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Washington, D.C., for Defendant- Appellee/Defendant-Appellant James Mazzo.

Kenneth B. Julian (argued), Arunabha Bhoumik, Andrea Ruth Bird, and Garrett Mott, Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips, LLP, Costa Mesa, California, for Defendant-Appellee Douglas DeCinces.

OPINION

RAWLINSON, Circuit Judge:

This case presents two appeals, one from the government and one from Defendant-Appellant James Mazzo (Mazzo). In Appeal No. 15-50033, the government appeals the district court’s pretrial order granting motions in limine to exclude certain pieces of evidence in a case in which Douglas DeCinces (DeCinces), Mazzo, and others are charged with UNITED STATES V. DECINCES 5

insider-trading offenses relating to the stock of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc.

Appeal No. 15-50058 is Mazzo’s cross-appeal challenging the district court’s order denying his motion to dismiss a securities fraud charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1348 for failing to state an offense and for violating the Double Jeopardy Clause. We conclude that we have jurisdiction over the government’s interlocutory appeal, and we reverse the district court’s ruling on the motions in limine. We conclude that we lack jurisdiction over Mazzo’s cross-appeal, which we dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

The government’s original indictment charged DeCinces, F. Scott Jackson (Jackson), and other defendants, not including Mazzo, with insider trading and money laundering. The grand jury also returned a First Superseding Indictment and a Second Superseding Indictment which became the operative charging document, and added Mazzo as a defendant.

The Second Superseding Indictment alleged that Mazzo and DeCinces participated in a scheme to defraud Mazzo’s company, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (EYE),1 and its shareholders. See id. According to the Second Superseding Indictment, as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EYE, Mazzo had access to material, nonpublic information about EYE’s forthcoming merger and acquisition activities, which he

1 “EYE” was the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol for Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. 6 UNITED STATES V. DECINCES

shared with DeCinces in violation of a duty of trust and confidence to EYE and for a personal benefit.

The Second Superseding Indictment alleged that, in December, 2006, based on one or more tips from Mazzo that EYE was preparing to acquire IntraLase, DeCinces sold all of his shares in EYE and purchased stock in IntraLase. After the public announcement of the acquisition, DeCinces sold his IntraLase stock, profiting approximately $33,000.

The government intimates, although it did not charge in the indictment, that Mazzo also tipped DeCinces in the summer of 2007 about EYE’s attempt to acquire Bausch and Lomb. The government alleges that DeCinces sold $250,000 of EYE stock and purchased Bausch and Lomb stock mere hours before EYE publicly announced that it had submitted a proposal to buy Bausch and Lomb.

The Second Superseding Indictment also alleged that, in late 2008 and early 2009, Mazzo tipped DeCinces that EYE would be acquired by Abbot Laboratories, and that DeCinces thereafter liquidated his diversified stock portfolio, invested the proceeds in EYE stock, and shared nonpublic information about the impending acquisition with several other people, urging them to purchase EYE stock.

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