Opinion
No. C 07-4777 SI.
February 12, 2009
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR A PERMANENT INJUNCTION
On January 16, 2009, plaintiff filed a motion for a permanent injunction. The motion is scheduled for hearing on February 20, 2009. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the Court determines that the motion is appropriate for resolution without oral argument and VACATES the hearing.
The question in this case was whether defendants could be enjoined from pursuing their claims against plaintiff in arbitration proceedings before the National Association of Securities Dealers Dispute Resolution (now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or "FINRA"). See Order Granting Pl.'s Mot. for Prelim. Inj. ("Order") at 2 (Docket No. 23); Compl. at ¶¶ 5, 16-17. Judge Martin J. Jenkins, in granting plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction on March 6, 2008, considered and decided the question on the merits. Order at 9-10. Judge Jenkins found that defendants could be enjoined from pursuing their claims before FINRA because defendants were not plaintiff's customers within FINRA rules and did not have a written arbitration agreement with plaintiff. Id. at 5 n. 3, 9-10. Defendants therefore lacked standing to assert their claims before FINRA. See id. at 5.
Plaintiff now requests that the Court make the injunction permanent. Defendants, who are representing themselves, have done nothing to challenge the preliminary injunction, nor have they filed any opposition to plaintiff's motion for a permanent injunction. Having considered the papers submitted, and for good cause shown, the Court hereby GRANTS plaintiff's motion for a permanent injunction. Defendants are permanently enjoined and restrained from pursuing their claims in the pending FINRA arbitration against Plaintiff Herbert J. Sims Co.
Defendants' attorney, Patrick Hinton, filed a motion to withdraw, which was granted effective December 12, 2008. Docket No. 35. Since then, none of the defendants has entered a substitute appearance, and one of the defendants, Nadine Vanderlanes, stipulated to dismissal on February 10, 2009. Docket No. 39.