Federal Trade Commission v. Ivy Capital, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting in part and Denying in part 170 Motion to Strike. Denying 171 Motion for an order granting receiver's recommendation. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 6/20/2011. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION,
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2:11-CV-283 JCM (GWF)
Plaintiff,
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v.
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IVY CAPITAL, INC., et al.,
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Defendants.
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ORDER
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Presently before the court is plaintiff Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) motion to strike
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affirmative defenses numbers eight and ten defendants Zelig’s, Zyzac’s and Curva’s first amended
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answer to the complaint. (Doc. #170). The defendants have responded (doc. #180), and the FTC has
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replied (doc. #191).
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Also before the court is the receiver Robb Evans’ motion for order granting the receiver’s
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recommendation that receivership defendant The Shipper, LLC, d.b.a. Wholesalematch.com be
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permitted to resume limited business operations. (Doc. #171). The FTC has responded (doc. #188),
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the defendants Fortune Learning, LLC, James Hanchett, Steven Sonnenberg, and The Shipper, LLC,
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have replied (d0c. #192). The receiver has also filed a reply. (Doc. #194).
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I.
Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) allows the court to “strike from a pleading an
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insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent or scandalous matter.” The function
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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of a motion to strike pursuant to Rule 12(f) is avoidance of “the expenditure of time and money that
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must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial[.]” Fantasy,
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Inc. v. Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir. 1994), rev’d on other grounds, 510 U.S. 517 (1994)
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(internal quotations omitted).
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Plaintiffs urge the court to apply Rule 12(f) to strike two affirmative defenses found in the
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Zelig/Zyzac defendants’ amended answer. The FTC alleges that the defenses are invalid as a matter
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of law and are unfounded. Whereas their presence in the case will purportedly confuse the issues
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before the court, complicate and delay the proceedings, and unnecessarily raise the costs of discovery
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and trial, the FTC requests the two defenses be stricken. Alternatively, the FTC argues that the
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claims have not been sufficiently pled under Rule 8 because they are conclusory and unsupported
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by the asserted facts. See FDIC v. Modular Homes, Inc., 859 F. Supp. 117, 121 (D.N.J. 1994)
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(finding an affirmative defense insufficiently pled where it includes nothing more than “bare bones
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conclusory allegations”).
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A.
Eighth Defense - First Amendment
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The eighth affirmative defense alleges that the answering defendants’ conduct was
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“privileged under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” (Doc. #151 at 10). The
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FTC argues that this is not actually an affirmative defense, because assuming the allegations in the
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complaint are true, it would not be viable. See U.S. v. Schiff, 379 F.3d 621, 629–30 (9th Cir. 2004)
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(holding that false or misleading commercial speech is not constitutionally protected). A proper
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affirmative defense would be viable even if all the allegations in the complaint were taken as true.
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See FTC v. Stefanchik, 2004 WL 5495267, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 12, 2004) (striking purported
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First Amendment defense because it would fail as a matter of law should all the facts alleged in the
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complaint be found true).
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The defendants argue in response that the defense should not be stricken because there may
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be some set of facts that support the claim that the defendants’ conduct was protected by the First
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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Amendment. See, e.g., FTC v. Bronson Partners, LLC, 2006 WL 197357, at *2 (D. Conn. 2006)
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(denying a motion to strike such a defense because there may be some set of facts to support it).
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Additionally, defendants note that the First Amendment places limits on the remedies available to
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the FTC for violations of the FTC Act. See Beneficial Corp. v FTC, 542 F.2d 611, 619 (3d Cir. 1976)
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(holding that the remedy for commercial speech violations of the law can go only go so far as to
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accomplish the remedial objective of preventing the violation). Thus, the First Amendment may be
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relevant as it relates to the relief sought.
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Whereas the court agrees that the First Amendment argument may be relevant to the
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disposition of the case, and whereas the court sees no harm in allowing the defense to remain in the
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answer, the motion to strike is denied as to the eighth affirmative defense.
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B.
Tenth Defense - Statute of Limitations
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A defendant may not assert a statute of limitations defense against the United States
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government unless the statute in question contains an express limitations period. U.S. v. Dos
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Cabezas Corp., 995 F.2d 1486, 1489 (9th Cir. 1993). As the FTC notes, Section 13(b) of the Federal
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Trade Commission Act specifies no statute of limitations period; rather, the express language of that
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section dictates that the FTC may bring suit whenever it has reason to believe that a violation has
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occurred. 15 U.S.C. § 53(b).
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Additionally, the three-year limitations period for claims under Section 19 of the Federal
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Trade Commission Act does not limit the relief sough here, where the FTC has alleged claims under
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both Sections 13(b) and 19. See 15. U.S.C. § 57b(e) (“Nothing in this section shall be construed to
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affect any authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.”); U.S. v. Building
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Inspector of Am., Inc., 894 F. Supp. 507, 514 (D. Mass. 1995) (holding that nothing in Section 19
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limits other civil actions by the government against violators of the FTC Act).
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Accordingly, the court grants the FTC’s motion to strike the tenth affirmative defense,
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because the defendants have failed to cite any authority indicating that any statute of limitations
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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period applies or that any applicable date has passed.
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II.
Motion to Grant Receiver’s Recommendation
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The Receiver, Robb Evans & Associates LLC, brings this motion for an order allowing
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receivership defendant The Shipper, LLC d.b.a. Wholesalematch.com to resume limited business
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operations. The receiver has outlined the history and business operations of this company, noting that
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Wholesalematch has presented data indicating that approximately two-thirds of its customers in 2011
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were non-Ivy Capital consumers. The receiver contends that resumption of business in this context
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is reasonable and beneficial, as any income generated through this process may be available to any
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judgment obtained by the plaintiff to ultimately benefit consumers.
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Accordingly, the receiver proposed that Wholesalematch be permitted to “resume operations
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utilizing funds from one or more third party investors, none of whom are defendants in the subject
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action or are directly or indirectly related to or affiliated with any defendants in the subject action.”
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(Doc. #171 at 3:11–14). The receiver also recommends seven safeguards:
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(1)
Wholesalematch has advised the [r]eceiver that it has established a separate CRM
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[consumer relationship management database] for its non-Ivy Capital consumers on
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a server other than the server previously used by Ivy Capital. Wholesalematch will
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provide the [r]eceiver with the non-Ivy Capital CRM database in order that the
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[r]eceiver can confirm that Wholesalematch’s non-Ivy Capital consumers have been
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segregated from the Ivy Capital consumers.
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(2)
Wholesalematch must demonstrate to the [r]eceiver that the Ivy Capital CRM
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database has been deleted in its entirety except for retaining the names, mailing
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addresses, and e-mail addresses of the Ivy Capital consumers. Wholesalematch
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further must demonstrate to the [r]eceiver that it has created a program which will
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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automatically scrub new Wholesalematch consumers against the Ivy Capital list of
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consumers and which will automatically reject any consumer who is on the Ivy
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Capital consumer list. This prevents any services, billings, or contacts by
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Wholesalematch to Ivy Capital consumers.
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(3)
Wholesalematch must provide to the [r]eceiver, on a monthly basis, a DVD of its
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then-current CRM database in order that the [r]eceiver can monitor compliance and
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be assured that no Ivy Capital consumers are being serviced, billed or contacted by
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Wholesalematch.
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(4)
The [r]eceiver is permitted to make unscheduled, unannounced inspections of the
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business operations of Wholesalematch, wherever those operations are conducted,
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during normal business hours, for the purpose of assuring that Wholesalematch is
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complying with these restrictions against the servicing, billing or contacting of Ivy
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Capital consumers.
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(5)
If at any time the [r]eceiver, in its sole and absolute opinion, determines that
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Wholesalematch is in violation of these guidelines, it may instruct Wholesalematch
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to immediately terminate its operations and Wholesalematch must do so until or
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unless Wholesalematch obtains a Court order permitting the resumption of
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operations.
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(6)
After the inception of the receivership, the [r]eceiver took steps to disable web sites
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related to Ivy Capital and Wholesalematch, as well as the web sites of consumers
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solicited by the [r]eceivership [d]efendants. This involved disabling web sites with
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the web sites’ registrars, e.g. godaddy.com, as well as disabling web sites with the
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colocation facilities that hosted the web sites, e.g Fibernet. In order to permit
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Wholesalematch to resume its business operations, Wholesalematch will provide the
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[r]eceiver with the names of all of its non-Ivy Capital consumers that have web sites,
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together with the registrar for each web site domain name and the colocation facility
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hosting each web site, in order that the Receiver can verify that only non-Ivy Capital
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consumer web sites are restored. Additionally, Wholesalematch’s domain name may
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be reacquired from godaddy.com, thereby allowing Wholesalematch to restore its
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own web site.
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(7)
Finally, in order to prevent the receivership estate from incurring any administrative
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expense liability in connection with the limited resumption of operations by
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Wholesalematch, all pre-receivership contracts in the name of Wholesalematch,
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whether with registrars, colocation facilities or any other vendors, to the extent such
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contracts are reestablished or restored, shall be reestablished or restored under a new
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account number. Further, the order granting this motion shall expressly provide that
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no expense incurred or to be incurred by Wholesalematch during the pendency of the
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receivership estate shall be deemed to be an administrative expense or otherwise
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create any liability for the [r]eceiver or the receivership estate whatsoever.
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(Doc. #171 at 3:19–5:14).1
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However, the FTC has responded to the receiver’s motion and opposes the resumption of
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business by Wholesalematch. Specifically, the FTC argues that the motion is “premature and
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speculative given that the receiver’s recommendation hinges on funds from one or more third party
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investors, yet defendants have failed to identify a single eligible investor.” (Doc. #188 at 2:2–5)
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(internal quotations omitted). Thus, the receiver has failed to show that Wholesalematch can and will
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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The conditions have been quoted from the receiver’s recommendation (doc. #171). The
court admonishes the parties to capitalize only proper nouns, in accordance with the ordinary rules
of grammar. Designations such as “receiver” and “defendant” that are not the name of a person, place
or thing shall not be capitalized in orders issued by this court.
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be operated legally and profitably as required by the preliminary injunction.
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The court agrees with the FTC. The motion is premature and will remain so until (1) the
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defendants have identified eligible investors; (2) the receiver has vetted the proposed investors to
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ensure that they meet the prerequisites set forth in the motion and are otherwise suitable; and (3) the
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court and the FTC have had a similar opportunity to evaluate the investors.
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Additionally, the receiver’s recommendation does not comply with Section XII.L of the
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preliminary injunction, which requires the suspension of all business operations unless they can be
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continued legally and profitably. (Doc. #91 at 20). The court agrees with the FTC in concluding that
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none of the limitations proposed by the receiver restrict Wholesalematch’s sales practices, nor do
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they establish a monitoring system to ensure compliance with federal laws. Specifically, the
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recommendation proposes no checks to ensure that Wholesalematch abandons the use of its
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misleading scripts or complies with the Do Not Call Registry rules.
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Finally, Section XII.L of the preliminary injunction requires the receiver to suspend business
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operations if such operations cannot be continued profitably. The court agrees with the FTC that the
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receiver has focused exclusively on the purported absence of cost to the receivership estate, rather
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than focusing on its potential profitability. Thus, the court is inclined to deny the receiver’s request
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at this time.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that plaintiff’s motion to strike
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(doc. #170) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as per the analysis
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set forth in the body of this order;
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the receiver’s motion for an order granting receiver’s
recommendation (doc. #171) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.
DATED May 25, 2011.
June 20, 2011.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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