Rudolph v. National Ass'n of Securities Dealers, Inc.
Rudolph v. National Ass'n of Securities Dealers, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
The demurrer to the second amended complaint was sustained without leave to amend. Plaintiffs’ notice of appeal will be regarded as a notice of appeal from the judgment of dismissal which was based on the order sustaining the demurrer.
At the beginning of the second amended complaint there is a heading entitled, “Statement of the Case.” Under that heading plaintiffs quoted a statement which allegedly was made by defense counsel in the case of “Rudolph v. Fulton in the District Court of Appeal at San Francisco.
Then plaintiffs alleged that they “repeat” their first amended complaint. (The first amended complaint—as to which a demurrer had been sustained—is then set forth verbatim, as the remainder or final part of the second amended complaint.)
The first amended complaint, as so set forth, was in substance, as follows: Defendant was incorporated in Delaware as a private nonprofit corporation, and for the past 23 years it has fraudulently carried on business throughout the United States as a public nonprofit corporation. It has collected millions of dollars from its members “under cover” of section 15a of the Securities and Exchange Act, and it has used compulsory powers to punish its members by “undue” fines and enormous assessments. It is utilizing powers which, under said section 15a, were meant for a public corporation that was incorporated under the federal statute, whereas it was not incorporated under any federal statute. It functions in the name of the federal government without authorization. It
In a second alleged cause of action, plaintiff Thera incorporated by reference all the allegations of the first alleged cause of action except the allegations regarding damages. He also alleged that, for a period of four years, he had been responsible for maintaining and rehabilitating plaintiff Rudolph
It thus appears that the second amended complaint is the same as the first amended complaint except that a ‘ ‘ Statement of the Case” is included in the second amended complaint as a preface to a repetition of the first amended complaint. As hereinabove shown, that preface or new matter in the second amended complaint included a quoted portion of a statement allegedly made by the defense counsel in a hearing on appeal at San Francisco. That statement was in substance that defendant is a nonprofit corporation, and probably it would have to be called a private corporation because it is not incorporated under any federal statute. In that preface, plaintiffs
The remainder of the second amended complaint was a copy of the first amended complaint—to which a demurrer had been sustained. In other words, the plaintiffs (appellants) in amending their first amended complaint, pursuant to leave of court, merely added the immaterial preface, above mentioned, to a copy of the demurrable first amended complaint.
The remainder of the second amended complaint (i.e., the copy of the first amended complaint) is unintelligible and it does not state a cause of action. It seems that the statements set forth (in the asserted first cause of action) indicate an attempt to allege that although the defendant is a nonprofit corporation under state laws, it has been conducting a profit-making corporation under federal laws, and that, by reason thereof, the plaintiffs have been damaged. There is no allegation of fact showing in what manner, if any, that such alleged status of defendant or such alleged manner of transacting business affected plaintiffs. It is not alleged that either plaintiff is a member of defendant company or that either one is a security broker. There is no allegation of fact to the effect that defendant is liable to either plaintiff by reason of any contractual obligation or tort liability. The allegations seem to indicate that plaintiffs commenced this action merely as members of the public to recover damages by reason of the alleged failure of defendant to conduct its business in accordance with law.
There is an allegation in the second amended complaint which states in effect that defendant cannot hold plaintiff Rudolph “to their disciplinary procedure” upon the assumption that defendant is an agency of the federal government. That allegation, of course, is not an allegation that the defendant held or attempted to hold disciplinary proceedings with reference to plaintiff Rudolph. There is an
Plaintiff Thera’s purported cause of action for money for his alleged services in maintaining and rehabilitating plaintiff Rudolph does not state a cause of action. There is no allegation of any fact from which it can be determined that defendant was under any obligation to pay money for such services.
Appellants assert that the trial judge erred in not having a reporter record the court proceedings at the time of the hearing on demurrer. It does not appear that either appellant requested that the proceedings be reported. The judge was not required to have the proceedings reported. There was no error in not having the proceedings reported.
The court did not err in sustaining the demurrer without leave to amend.
The judgment is affirmed.
Fourt, J., and Lillie, J., concurred.
Apparently referring to ease of Rudolph v. Fulton, 178 Cal.App.2d 339 [2 Cal.Rptr. 807].
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.