Spinner Corp. v. Princeville Development Corp.

• Decision Date: 01 July 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-2076,87-2076
• Parties: SPINNER CORPORATION, a Utah corporation, et al., Plaintiff/Counterclaim-defendants, v. PRINCEVILLE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, a Colorado corporation, Defendant/Counter-plaintiff/Appellant. v. MORGAN, OLMSTEAD, KENNEDY & GARDNER, INC., Counter-defendant/Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 388

849 F.2d 388

SPINNER CORPORATION, a Utah corporation, et al., Plaintiff/Counterclaim-defendants, v. PRINCEVILLE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, a Colorado corporation, Defendant/Counter-plaintiff/Appellant. v. MORGAN, OLMSTEAD, KENNEDY & GARDNER, INC., Counter-defendant/Appellee.

No. 87-2076.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 15, 1988.

Decided June 8, 1988.

As Amended July 1, 1988.

Edward A. Jaffe, Thomas Yamachika, Honolulu, Hawaii, for defendant/counter-plaintiff/appellant.

Martin C. Washton, Elisabeth B. Long, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles, Cal., for counter-defendant/appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Before SNEED, HUG and KOZINSKI, Circuit Judges.

SNEED, Circuit Judge:

Princeville Development Corp. (Princeville) appeals the district court's dismissal of its "baby" FTC Act claim under Haw.Rev.Stat. Sec. 480-2 against Morgan, Olmstead, Kennedy, and Gardner Inc. (Morgan Olmstead). We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

In late 1985, Spinner Corp. launched a hostile tender offer against Princeville. Morgan Olmstead served as Spinner's investment banker and advisor. At approximately the same time, Morgan Olmstead was attempting to negotiate an agreement to act as Princeville's investment advisor for a private placement of convertible subordinated debentures. During these negotiations, Morgan Olmstead received confidential information from Princeville. Morgan Olmstead never revealed that it was advising Spinner at the same time. Excerpt of Record (E.R.) tab 175, at 8.

Sometime later, despite a confidentiality agreement with Princeville, Morgan Olmstead allegedly turned over to Spinner the confidential information it had received from Princeville. Princeville apparently became aware of this fact during the discovery phase of litigation between Spinner and Princeville which was brought by Spinner to invalidate anti-takeover provisions that Princeville had adopted earlier. Princeville counterclaimed for violations of the Williams Act and deceit under Hawaii's baby FTC Act, Haw.Rev.Stat. Secs. 480-2, 480-13 (1985).

In November 1986, Morgan Olmstead moved to dismiss portions of Princeville's counterclaim. On January 30, 1987 the district court, Judge Owen Panner presiding, granted Spinner and Morgan Olmstead's motion to dismiss the baby FTC Act claim for failure to state a claim. E.R. tab 227, at 3. The remaining claims were settled and only the dismissal of the baby FTC Act claim is on appeal. The appeal was timely filed on February 27, 1987.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Our standard of review both with respect to dismissal for failure to state a claim and construction of Hawaii state law is de novo. Sax v. World Wide Press, Inc., 809 F.2d 610, 613 (9th Cir.1987); Cunha v. Ward Foods, Inc., 804 F.2d 1418, 1423 (9th Cir.1986); In re Mclinn, 739 F.2d 1395, 1403 (9th Cir.1984) (en banc).

III. JURISDICTION

The district court had jurisdiction of the Williams Act claims under 15 U.S.C. Sec. 78aa and took pendent jurisdiction of the baby FTC Act claim. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 (1982).

IV. DISCUSSION

Princeville contends that Morgan Olmstead's release of confidential information in the context of a securities transaction violates Hawaii's baby FTC act, Haw.Rev.Stat. Sec. 480-2 (1985). The district court dismissed Princeville's claims under the baby FTC act "because said section does not apply to securities transactions." E.R. tab 227, at 3. That act makes unlawful "[u]nfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce." This statute, enacted in 1965, was modeled after the Federal Trade Commission Act ¹ and was an "addition to the state's antitrust arsenal that outlaws unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive trade practices in sweeping terms." Island Tobacco Co. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 63 Haw. 289, 300, 627 P.2d 260, 268 (1981).

A major difference between the state and federal versions is that private individuals are specifically authorized to make claims under the state act, and may be awarded the greater of $1000 or treble damages. Sec. 480-13(1). The act has two other features of particular significance to this case. First, the legislature dictated that the act be "construed in accordance with judicial interpretations of similar federal antitrust statutes." Sec. 480-3. Thus, courts must refer to judicial interpretations of Sec. 5(a)(1) of the FTCA, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 45(a)(1), before applying Sec. 480-2. Second, the act specifically exempts certain groups and activities from its coverage such as labor organizations and insurance transactions. The act does not, however, explicitly exempt securities transactions from coverage. Princeville's claims arise from securities transactions.

We must decide, therefore, whether the act applies to conduct ordinarily associated with securities transactions. Our task is made difficult because the Hawaii courts have not addressed the issue. We are obliged to ascertain what the Hawaii Supreme Court would do if confronted with the same question.

Morgan Olmstead argues that Hawaii caselaw rejects the use of Sec. 480-2 in the securities context. It cites Cecil v. Paine Webber Jackson & Curtis, Inc., Civ. No. 67492 (Haw.Cir.Ct. filed Aug. 23, 1983). In that case a Hawaii circuit judge granted Paine Webber's motion to dismiss a Sec. 480-2 claim for misrepresentations in the sale of securities. The court gave no reason for the dismissal. Thus, Morgan Olmstead relies heavily on Paine Webber's brief in Cecil. The arguments in that brief are similar to the ones made in Morgan Olmstead's brief in the instant case. Without a written opinion explaining the decision, however, Cecil has little or no precedential value for this court. ²

Princeville, on the other hand, points to several federal district court cases in which the courts may have implicitly accepted the idea that the statute covers securities law claims. In Bush v. Rewald, 619 F.Supp. 585, 609-10 (D.Haw.1985), a federal district court refused to dismiss a claim under Sec. 480-2 for securities fraud. The issue the court addressed, however, was whether the suit was in the public interest as required by Sec. 480-13. No question of the applicability of Sec. 480-2 to securities questions was raised or discussed by the court. In Cunha v. Ward Foods, Inc., 545 F.Supp. 94, 102 (D.Haw.1982), the district court also ruled on a "public interest" requirement of Sec. 480-13 and appeared to assume that a Sec. 480-2 claim could encompass activities in the securities field. We are not persuaded that either of these federal district court opinions satisfactorily addresses the issue of the applicability of Sec. 480-2 to securities transactions conduct. Thus, to determine the scope of Sec. 480-2 we must examine the language of the statute and the legislative intent motivating it.

Princeville relies on the plain reading of the statute, which gives no indication that securities transactions are not covered. It emphasizes that the statute makes specific exemptions for some activities but does not exempt securities transactions. It is an elementary principle of statutory construction that when a statute contains specific exceptions from coverage, it cannot be read to include other exceptions. Andrus v. Glover Constr. Co., 446 U.S. 608, 616-17, 100 S.Ct. 1905, 1910, 64 L.Ed.2d 548 (1980); 2A Sutherland, Statutory Construction Sec. 47.23, at 194 (C. Sands 4th ed. 1984). This is a strong argument.

Morgan Olmstead, however, checks in with an even more compelling argument. It points to the provision of the statute requiring that it be construed in accordance with the judicial interpretation of similar federal antitrust statutes. See Sec. 480-3. As noted above, the Hawaii Act is almost identical to Sec. 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 45(a)(1) (1982). The Federal Trade Commission Act has not been applied in a securities context since 1923. FTC v. Cox & Cox, FTC Docket Nos. 293, 402, aff'd (5th Cir.1923),discussed in 2 Trade Reg.Rep. (CCH) p 7851, at 12,728 (1971). Morgan Olmstead concludes this is because such questions have been governed by the SEC since its creation in the 1930s. It also points to the absence of any federal judicial decision after that time that applied the Federal Trade Commission Act to a securities transaction. Dismissal by the district court in this case is in accordance with judicial interpretations of similar federal antitrust statutes.

We acknowledge that the meaning of the Hawaii statute turns on the intent of its legislature. We conclude that the primary intent of the legislature was to protect consumers from unethical business practices resulting in relatively small commercial injuries. The manner in which the legislature framed the statute demonstrates this primary intent. The statute is designed to provide encouragement to people whose damages are relatively small by granting to them, if successful, treble damages and a minimum recovery of $1000. The legislative history supports this view. In discussing the purpose of the statute the House and Senate Standing Committee Reports in several places refer to motivating consumers with small grievances to sue businesses that engage in unfair or deceptive practices. House Standing Comm.Rep. No. 661, House Journal 882-83 (1969); Senate Standing Comm.Rep. No. 600, Senate Journal 1111 (1969). Actions involving securities, such as the ones alleged in this case, are not typically on the agenda of consumer advocates.

We recognize, however, that the Hawaii courts have permitted suits by one business against another using Sec. 480-2. Eastern Star, Inc. v. Union Bldg. Materials Corp., 712 P.2d 1148 (Haw.App.1985). We regard this as no more than recognition that a business can suffer the same misfortune as a consumer under some circumstances. It in no...