Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dresser Industries, Inc. case brief

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dresser Industries, Inc. case brief summary
628 F.2d 1368 (D.C. Cir. 2009)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Appellant sought review of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia's decision requiring obedience to a subpoena duces tecum issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with an SEC investigation into the use of corporate funds pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

CASE FACTS

• Appellant challenged the SEC execution of a subpoena duces tecum pursuant to Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, based on simultaneous litigation by U.S. government in both criminal and civil court. 
• The principal issue was whether appellant was entitled to special protection against the subpoena because of parallel investigations. 
• Appellant argued that the SEC subpoena abused the civil discovery process of the SEC for the purpose of criminal discovery and infringed the role of the grand jury in independently investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing. 
• The lower court enforced the order, and appellant sought review. 

DISCUSSION

• After an appellate panel affirmed the lower court's ruling but included a discovery protection order, the court heard the case en banc and affirmed the lower court's ruling and reversed the appellate panel's protective order. 
• The court held that the grand jury proceeding neither added nor detracted from appellant's rights and any challenge to production of discovery could only occur after subpoena enforcement.

OUTCOME

The court affirmed.

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