Wilcox v. Ho-Wing Sit

586 F. Supp. 561, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16994
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 3, 1984
DocketC-84-0615-WWS
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 586 F. Supp. 561 (Wilcox v. Ho-Wing Sit) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilcox v. Ho-Wing Sit, 586 F. Supp. 561, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16994 (N.D. Cal. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER

SCHWARZER, District Judge.

Plaintiffs John and Susan Wilcox, limited partners in Express Fund, Ltd. (“Express, Ltd.”), bring this action under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), and various state law provisions against defendants Ho-Wing Sit and Express Fund of Chicago, Inc. (“Express, Inc.”), limited and general partners respectively of Express, Ltd. The gravamen of plaintiffs’ complaint is that they were fraudulently induced by defendants to sell stock and invest the proceeds in Express, Ltd. which trades in stock options on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. (“CBOE”). Defendants now contend that arbitration clauses in their partnership agreement with plaintiffs and in the rules of the CBOE require the Court to stay this proceeding pending arbitration of plaintiffs’ claims. In the event that the Court determines any claims to be non-arbitrable, defendants request that the Court stay the proceeding pending arbitration of the other claims. Plaintiffs contend that none of their claims are arbitrable and that arbitration of any that are should be stayed pending resolution of this proceeding.

Defendants also move under Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss plaintiffs’ RICO claim. They argue that (1) plaintiffs have failed to allege any affiliation with organized crime, (2) plaintiffs have failed to allege an enterprise separate from the named defendants, and (3) plaintiffs have failed to allege any “racketeering enterprise injury.” Plain *563 tiffs insist that RICO requires no such allegations, and both parties cite directly contradictory case law interpreting the statute’s provisions.

The Court concludes that plaintiffs’ § 10b-5 and RICO claims are non-arbitrable despite the arbitration clauses in the parties’ agreements and the rules of the CBOE. Resolution of those claims, however, should be stayed pending arbitration of plaintiffs’ state law claims which form the essence of their complaint. Defendants’ motion to dismiss the RICO claim should be denied.

FACTS

In 1979, plaintiffs formed a limited partnership, Wilco, Ltd., to trade in stock options on the CBOE. As such, they were required to sign agreements consenting to abide by the rules of the CBOE. In May 1980, the partnership name was changed to Express Fund, Ltd. Plaintiffs became limited partners as did defendant Ho-Wing Sit, who is president of Express Fund of Chicago, Inc., 1 a general partner of Express, Ltd. The business of the partnership basically consisted of investing capital, contributed by its partners, in various securities and commodities on the CBOE for its own account. Its activities were managed by Ho-Wing Sit through Express, Inc. for which both received compensation. As of December 1980, plaintiffs had contributed capital in the form of pledged securities amounting to approximately $400,000.

By August 1982, the partnership had lost about $175,000 and its trading had become erratic. In particular defendants had traded heavily and apparently unsuccessfully in highly volatile options in Teledyne, Inc. Ho-Wing Sit requested plaintiffs to invest an additional $100,000, necessary for the partnership to recoup its losses. Plaintiffs informed Ho-Wing Sit that they would invest more capital only on condition that (1) the partnership no longer trade in Teledyne options, (2) Ho-Wing Sit stay as a trader in Chicago full-time, and (3) Ho-Wing Sit also invest an additional $100,000 in the partnership. Ho-Wing Sit agreed to these conditions, and plaintiffs authorized him to sell 6000 shares of their stock in Cox Broadcasting System which .raised $120,000.

During October 1982, the partnership lost several hundred thousand dollars and its CBOE Clearing Agent, Lake Options, barred it from further trading. Plaintiffs later learned that Ho-Wing Sit had invested the $120,000 in an interest-bearing “reserve” account without so informing the Clearing Agent, that he had resumed trading in Teledyne options, and that he had contributed substantially less than $100,000 to the partnership. Defendants also refused to return plaintiffs’ $120,000.

Plaintiffs brought this action alleging fraud in the sale of securities in violation of § 10(b) of the 1934 Act and violation of RICO. Their pendent state law claims allege common-law fraud, negligence, conversion, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of defendants’ fiduciary duty. They seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as treble damages under RICO. Defendants now move to stay this proceeding pending arbitration and to dismiss the RICO claim. Plaintiffs cross-move to stay arbitration pending resolution of this proceeding.

DISCUSSION

A. Arbitration Clauses

The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., provides in § 3 that

[i]f any suit or proceeding be brought in any of the courts of the United States upon any issue referable to arbitration under an agreement in writing for such arbitration, the court in which such suit is pending, upon being satisfied that the issue involved in such suit or proceeding is referable to arbitration under such an agreement, shall on application of one of the parties stay the trial of the action until such arbitration has been had in accordance with the terms of the agreement, providing the applicant for the *564 stay is not in default in proceeding with such arbitration.

Section 3 applies to contracts covered by § 2 as follows:

A written provision in ... a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction, or the refusal to perform the whole or any part thereof, or an agreement in writing to submit to arbitration an existing controversy arising out of such a contract, transaction, or refusal shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or equity for the revocation of any contract.

Defendants point to two provisions to settle disputes by arbitration in their agreements with plaintiffs. First they rely on the amended agreement of limited partnership for Express, Ltd. which provides in § 15.9:

Arbitration. In the event of a dispute among the Partners regarding the interpretation of this Agreement of any other matter which remains unresolved for a period of more than seven days following written notice of said dispute to the General Partners, disputants shall submit such dispute to binding arbitration pursuant to the Rules of the Exchange, and any award thereunder shall be final and binding on all the disputants and on the limited partnership.

Defendants contend that the underlined portion of the above paragraph contains a typographical error and that the word “of”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
586 F. Supp. 561, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilcox-v-ho-wing-sit-cand-1984.