Securities And Exchange Commission v. Amundsen

Background

In 1983, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Joseph S. Amundsen, who was then a certified public accountant. The Commission alleged that Amundsen misrepresented material facts in audit reports prepared in connection with securities of Olympic Oil and Gas, Inc. It also alleged that he made false statements under oath to Commission staff investigating him.

Amundsen proceeded without a lawyer and voluntarily signed a consent “Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction.” The consent judgment permanently barred him from “appearing or practicing before the Commission in any way.”

The opinion states that Amundsen has repeatedly sought to vacate or otherwise modify the injunction since the matter was assigned to the court in 2010. The court lists numerous earlier orders denying his motions, petitions, requests for stays, and requests for reconsideration. The current motion was docketed as Dkt. No. 176, and the Commission filed an opposition at Dkt. No. 177.

Legal standard and ruling

The court quoted the rule that a party seeking to modify a consent judgment may meet its initial burden by showing either a significant change in factual conditions or a significant change in the law. The opinion does not describe each ground raised in the current motion. It states that, as before, all of Amundsen’s stated grounds failed to support his position.

The court denied the petition to vacate the injunction. Judge Alsup did not vacate the injunction in this order. The opinion does not state that the order changes the injunction or adds any new restriction.